Industrial machinery
Pneumatic manifold with conformal channels
Nine machined blocks and their fittings consolidated into a single printed manifold.
The problem
The original assembly was nine machined blocks bolted together, with twenty-two sealing faces that each represented a possible leak. Drilled straight channels forced sharp turns in the flow path and cost pressure at every corner.
What we did
Printing let the channels curve the way the air wants to travel. The part came out 38 % lighter, dropped less pressure across the circuit, and removed every one of the twenty-two seals.
- Client
- Agricultural equipment manufacturer
- Process
- SLS
- Material
- Glass-filled PA12
- Quantity
- 40 units
- Delivered in
- 11 days