Case Study: Thorlabs achieves $20,000/year cost savings with Stratasys Origin 3D printing

Thorlabs generates impressive cost savings with 3D printing applications

Thorlabs, a global designer and manufacturer of photonics equipment, needed to keep as much production in-house as possible to meet exact tolerances, rapid turnaround and small-run customization. After conversations with TriMech, the company evaluated and adopted the Stratasys Origin® P3™ DLP 3D printing production system to address supplier disruptions and improve prototyping, one-off parts and short production runs.

Using the Stratasys Origin system and materials like Ultracur3D® ST45, Thorlabs replaced an aluminum hex key holder with a 3D-printed version, cutting unit cost from about $11 to just over $3 and delivering roughly $20,000 in annual savings. Stratasys-enabled fixtures also eliminated engraving rework and scrap, sped design iterations, improved part robustness and quickly proved the ROI of the investment.

Thorlabs

Andrew Kosco

Engineering Project Manager