Case Study: Xerox cuts thermoforming mold cost from $1,200 to $100 and reduces lead time from 7 days to 4 hours with Stratasys FDM

Switching to FDM to Build Thermoforming Molds Reduces Cost from $1200 to $100

Xerox, a global leader in document management and green packaging, faced high cost and long lead times making thermoforming molds with CNC-machined wood—about $1,200 and seven days per iteration. Xerox had purchased a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) machine from Stratasys for prototyping and, with Stratasys’ engineering support, explored using FDM to produce porous molds for thermoforming.

Stratasys helped Xerox tune FDM porosity to create vacuum-capable, additively manufactured molds, eliminating contour machining and hole drilling. The change cut mold cost to roughly $100 ($103 in the case study) and turnaround to about 0.5 days (4 hours)—roughly 91% cost savings and 93% faster—while improving vacuum uniformity, part quality and design freedom and enabling new applications like printhead covers and drum holders. Stratasys’ FDM solution let Xerox iterate more often and deliver better, lower-cost thermoformed parts.

Xerox

Duane Byerley

Senior Model Maker