Case Study: Xerox achieves rapid specialty-printer production and 98% tooling cost savings with Stratasys FDM

3D Printed Punch Speeds Production of Specialty Xerox Printer

Xerox needed 350 modified connectors quickly to test a new low‑volume specialty printer, but the cable supplier required a 1 million‑unit retooling minimum. To avoid costly retooling and slow hand‑modification, Xerox turned to Stratasys and its FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) technology to create rapid tooling for punching away extraneous connector geometry.

Using Stratasys FDM, Xerox printed a negative‑fit support, a two‑piece blade holder to carry X‑Acto blades, and a guide body, assembled the punch and ran connectors on a toggle press—completing the tool in about 4.5 hours and producing 350 parts in roughly one hour. The Stratasys FDM approach cost $268 and took 5.5 hours versus $7,200/120 hours by hand or $11,450/200 hours for steel rule dies, saving $11,182 (98%) and 194.5 hours (97%) and enabling the printer to reach market weeks sooner.

Xerox

Duane Byerley

Senior Model Maker