Dramatically Reducing Production Time with 3D Printing

The Challenge

During the 1990s, KADEN produced several toy car models made of zinc alloy and plastic. Leading up to 2020, KADEN had been reduced to a company of about 40 workers, who provided specialized assembly services for other model manufacturers because of increasing foreign competition due to the lower costs of outsourcing labor and production to Asia (particularly to China). KADEN quickly realized the need to bring production back to Europe and revive the industry.

The Solution

KADEN turned to 3D Printing and implemented CAD design software and the addition of in-house additive manufacturing capabilities in order to restart production. LOCTITE xPRO410 material completely changed the tempo of production capabilities at KADEN. From nine hours to 3D print a single part on a previous 3D printing system to printing a full plate of the same parts in a fraction of the time, the team saw an immediate production increase. KADEN found the ultrafast, high-throughput Nexa3D NXE 400 printer and accompanying material performance to be ideal for producing the mold components it needs.

Benefits

By leveraging 3D Printing and the additive process KADEN is able to produce 108 model car tires in 34 minutes by stacking 3 layers of 36 model tires in a single production run utilizing xFLEX Black. xPRO410 allows KADEN to manufacture the detailed interiors of their highly collectable model cars as well as aiding in the design process by producing functional prototypes. Design to final production time has been dramatically reduced thanks to the streamlining of processes and the ability to quickly validate functional prototypes.