Case Study: MAHLE achieves rapid, cost-saving fixture validation with Stratasys Direct Manufacturing

3D Printing Puts Fixtures into Gear for MAHLE

MAHLE needed a fast, low-cost way to produce a validation fixture for an automotive HVAC assembly—one that would be designed, built and shipped from the United States to South Korea within a week. With limited in-house 3D printing capacity and expertise and a requirement to consolidate three components into a single, dimensionally accurate and stable part, traditional steel machining and CNC couldn’t meet the compressed timeline or cost targets.

MAHLE engaged Stratasys Direct Manufacturing (Stratasys) to redesign the fixture for additive manufacturability and produce it using FDM® technology with ASA thermoplastic. Stratasys’s Design Services delivered a single, robust fixture in under a week (vs. 4–5 weeks for conventional methods), saved MAHLE thousands of dollars compared with CNC machining, and produced a lighter, ergonomic part with the required dimensional stability—enabling MAHLE to validate the part on schedule and consider broader adoption of 3D printing.

Mahle

Jim Andersen

Senior Project Engineer