Case Study: Moog Aircraft Group cuts fixture costs and lead times with Stratasys Fortus 380mc 3D printing

Moog Aircraft Group Cuts Fixture and Lead Times with FDM 3D Printing

Moog Aircraft Group, a long-standing supplier of advanced solutions to military aircraft, needed to reduce the cost and four- to six-week lead times associated with outsourced tool-steel CMM inspection fixtures. To insource fixture production and speed up delivery, Moog chose Stratasys and its Fortus 380mc 3D Printer, leveraging FDM technology to meet required material and build-envelope specifications.

Using the Stratasys Fortus 380mc with ASA ivory and SR-30/SR-100 soluble supports, Moog now prints dedicated CMM fixtures in about 20 hours, cutting fixture costs from over £2,000 to a few hundred pounds and running the system nearly 24/7 at near-full utilization. The Stratasys solution delivered faster design iterations (hours versus weeks), improved work holding, reduced manual-handling damage, and freed other departments to produce complex tooling and fixtures in-house.

Moog Aircraft Group

James Stuart-Young

Manufacturing Engineering Manager