“Carlo Gavazzi Industri Kaunas” is an international group involved in the design, manufacturing, and sale of electronic devices. Automation components are Carlo Gavazzi’s core business. Almost a year and a half ago, the company expanded its operations with a Zortrax M200, the most advanced desktop-class 3D printer of 2017. After this machine proved itself, the company decided to also acquire a Zortrax M300 Plus and a Zortrax Inkspire 3D printer. Seeing this company’s success story with 3D printing, we spoke with their engineer, Lukas Salasevičius, and are sharing his impressions.
“The main things we use our Zortrax 3D printers for are 3D prototypes of new electronic component holders, clips, housings, and other parts, used in our R&D department,” Lukas explains. The engineer mentions that they are already introducing 3D printing into production step by step. “The speed and quality of 3D printing lets us apply it not just to prototyping, but also to manufacturing final products.”
“3D printing is our company’s everyday companion. The printers are working day in, day out.” Lukas also noted that their first Zortrax M200 FDM printer has already logged 2,949 hours of operation, and that’s just the beginning! Not far behind are the younger Zortrax M300 Plus and the SLA printer Inkspire.
L. Salasevičius says that 3D printers have significantly changed their working habits. “Production of the holders used in our manufacturing operations has sped up considerably. Some of these parts are difficult to manufacture using other methods, even by milling. For this reason, 3D printing has taken over the production of those parts almost entirely. Our staff are happy that they’re no longer limited by the technical constraints they used to face with CNC machining. Corners and rounded edges no longer limit the design, allowing us to create a single, integral part rather than an assembled, complex-structure one.”
The company calculates that their first printer paid for itself within the first six months of use and significantly boosted productivity. Lukas emphasizes: “We certainly don’t regret this innovation, and the company is already thinking about expanding its 3D printer fleet even further.” According to Lukas, the most important advantage is time. “Once you’ve created a 3D model, all that’s left is to print it, and printing requires very little human time. With CNC milling, you constantly need a person at the machine, which requires more human resources — and those, as we know, are expensive. Also, before we got our 3D printers, the lead time for a new part was a week or even longer. Now, 3D printing lets us cut that time down to two days, or even just one!”
Speed, quality, freedom — that’s what today’s 3D printing capabilities in business are all about!