3D printed industrial replacement part

3D printed break-away bar replacement part on laser cutter

Originally made from aluminium, the break-away bar deteriorated from thousands of hours of use. Rather than wait for a genuine part, we were able to 3D print a replacement break-away bar for the laser cutter at Laws Laser. 

The replacement part is made from Onyx (chopped carbon filled nylon) reinforced with continuous carbon fiber strands. 

The process included one of our industrial designers recreating the part in Autodesk Inventor, then refining the prototype through three design iterations before installing the final break-away bar on to the machine.

Detailed drawing of break-away bar

Inventor 3D model of break-away bar

3D print file loaded into Markforged Eiger software

Carbon striping layers added to 3D model of break-away bar

Original break-away bar with iterations of replacement part

Break-away bar installed on laser cutter