Case Study: Dunlop Systems and Components

When Dunlop Systems and Components in the United Kingdom was contracted to help with the build of an electric vehicle for a large automotive company, the team needed to fabricate custom tools for it. By using their Markforged carbon fibre 3D printer instead of outsourcing the job, they saved thousands on the tooling alone.

Read the case study to find out how Dunlop has seen an increase in tools available, lead times drastically cut, and a significant decrease in costs.

The Challenge

Dunlop Systems is a British automotive manufacturer based just outside of Birmingham. The company specialises in Anti-Vibration Solutions including automotive air suspension components and electronic control systems for OEM and aftermarket vehicle applications.

Mark Statham, Production Engineering Manager at Dunlop Systems, is in charge of all the tooling used to make Dunlop’s products. The company had a lot of old machinery and in-house tooling that needed to be replaced frequently. Internal and customer tools were sent to a third-party toolmaker to make, however as a result of customer design changes, costs spiralled without being completely recoverable.

“You spend all that money and you wait two or three weeks for it to come in, and the customer then phones you up to tell you what they want changed,” says Statham.

Supplier time constraints was a constant issue, and Mark didn’t want his team to be the bottleneck, so he set about looking for an alternative option.

The Solution

Mark attended a seminar about 3D printing where he heard about an industrial-grade 3D printer capable of printing in carbon fibre. He realised he could use it for tooling, as the material was robust enough to withstand corrosive environments. That same day, he went to his director’s office and said that if he didn’t buy a Markforged Mark Two, he’d regret it. His director agreed, and the rest is history.

“Since we’ve had it, we’ve never looked back. It’s the best thing we’ve ever bought. Should have bought it earlier to be honest,” says Statham.

Already, the team has found several applications for it, from prototype parts for electric cars to gauges and moulds. Onyx and continuous carbon fibre have been a perfect fit for the company, providing strong, lightweight parts that can be easily printed on the team’s Markforged desktop printer.

“We’re now basically going to be replacing all our tooling with Onyx,” says Statham. Usually, the department spends around £20,000 on tooling alone. This year, they’re only spending £11,000, thanks to additive manufacturing.

Dunlop Systems is currently using their Markforged composite printer to help bring an electric car to the market for a large automotive company. The beta electric car is currently out on the road with 3D printed Onyx prototype parts, and the custom 3D printed tooling has already been printed. The necessary parts were estimated to cost £8,000, but have now been quoted at £2,000 instead.

“Our department has almost got bragging rights, because we don’t hold things up,” says Statham. “So that’s a bit of a bonus as well.”

Statham says another benefit of bringing additive manufacturing to Dunlop Systems has been the increased enthusiasm within the team. With no need to cut on costs while 3D printing parts, the department now has a quick turnaround for projects, and won’t turn down a design challenge.

Looking Ahead

Since bringing Markforged technology in-house, Statham’s department is now better respected on the shop floor, and plans to add a Markforged Industrial Series X7 printer in the near future to keep up with all the part requests they receive.

“People are seeing tooling coming onto the shop floor more frequently than they ever did,” says Statham. “I think they’ve had more tooling in the last six months than in the last five years.”

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