Case Study: GKN Aerospace achieves significant time, cost and production-downtime reductions with Stratasys 3D printing (Fortus 900mc)

GKN Aerospace Achieves Significant Savings with Additive Manufactured Tooling and Prototypes

GKN Aerospace, a leading tier-one supplier to commercial, military and space markets, faced costly production-line downtime when traditionally manufactured tools broke or were unavailable and needed weeks to replace, plus pressure to deliver ultra-realistic prototypes on tight schedules. To solve these challenges, GKN turned to Stratasys, deploying the Fortus 900mc FDM 3D printer to produce production tooling and fully functional prototypes in-house.

Using the Stratasys Fortus 900mc, GKN rapidly printed replacement tools (for example, mask-cutting jigs) and prototypes (including a windscreen housing) in hours instead of weeks, clearing backlogs and allowing product launches to proceed. Stratasys’ solution produced measurable benefits for GKN Aerospace: up to a 40% reduction in concessions, some jobs reduced from two operators to one, faster throughput, and significant time and cost savings.

GKN Aerospace

Rachel Trimble

Additive Manufacturing Polymer Specialist