Case Study: Isar Gears accelerates aerospace drive prototyping with Protolabs

ISAR-Gears is taking on new challenges - with expert support from Protolabs

Isar Gears, an aerospace drives specialist in Germany, needed a robust prototype for a new propeller drive for an electric aircraft application. The design featured a fine-veined oil channel system with outlet nozzles, and conventional CNC machining was not suitable for the complex geometry. They turned to Protolabs for Direct Metal Laser Sintering support.

Protolabs produced the prototype with metal sintering in just 15 working days and provided design-for-manufacturability guidance to refine the part. The first build revealed areas for improvement, including powder removal and wall thickness, and Protolabs helped Isar Gears iterate quickly to achieve a functioning unit. The fast quoting, production, and revisions significantly shortened development time compared with traditional providers, enabling Isar Gears to move toward the next development stage.

Isar Gears

Albert Wimmer

Managing Director