Making narrower fenders and the bracket assemblies that go with them means creating all-new tooling — a big investment. It’s crucial for Larsen to get the designs right before committing to tooling, so functional prototyping is essential. And in Minimiser’s trademark rugged testing environment, Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)is the only 3D printing technology up to the task. Its real engineering thermoplastics include ULTEM™ 9085 resin, the all-around toughest rapid-prototyping material in terms of mechanical strength and resistance to heat and chemicals.
With Minimiser’s onsite Fortus 3D Production System, Larsen can build functional prototypes in just hours or, for large parts, days. And now that Stratasys offers ULTEM™ resin in black, those parts are right at home on the shop floor, masking grease and fingerprints and taking abuse with no painted finish to scuff and scratch.
The material’s new black colour also offers Minimiser the chance to make concept models look more like production parts. “About 90 percent of our products are black in this industry,” says Minimiser CEO Craig Kruckeberg. Black ULTEM™ resin models look like the real thing right out of the build chamber, which is helpful for a business that’s constantly trying out new ideas.
“As trucks change, we need to change. People are always coming to us for new products,” Kruckeberg says. Now that its fenders are indestructible, it is customer needs that drive Minimiser to keep inventing.