Case Study: Ducati cuts engine development time by 20 months with Stratasys FDM prototyping

Motorcycle Maker Accelerates Engine Design with FDM Prototyping

Ducati, the Italian maker of racing and road motorcycles, faced a pressing challenge to shorten its design cycle and accelerate time-to-market for new engines. To validate designs faster and produce both concept models and functional prototypes in-house, Ducati adopted Stratasys Fortus FDM prototyping systems, using materials such as ABS and polycarbonate to create durable, accurate prototypes.

By bringing two Stratasys Fortus FDM machines on-site, Ducati prototyped the Desmosedici engine almost entirely in polycarbonate and completed design and assembly in 8 months versus 28 months for the previous engine—a 20-month reduction. The in-house FDM capability also eliminated roughly €1 million/year in service-bureau expenses, reduced errors through more accurate physical testing, sped development, improved cost forecasting, and helped secure organizational buy-in for the new design.

Ducati

Piero Giusti

R&D CAD Manager