Decathlon Embraces AM for R&D

Fishing Weight Sinkers

Decathlon have been making good use of their range of 3D Systems printers to accelerate product development and reduce time to market for their new products.

The product we are looking at is the weight sinker, which is used for adding weight when casting, as well as stabilizing the hook when fresh water carp fishing.

Decathlon were looking on expanding their range of fishing products, as they only had one similar product on offer in their stores. When they approached the mold maker to produce the new designs, the mold maker was unable to deliver the molds as required.

Typically the mold making workflow would mean that Decathlon would have had to wait for at least a month before receiving the mold had they opted to find an alternative supplier.

However, by using the Figure 4 Modular at the Decathlon ADDLAB, they were able to print master mold patterns capable of surviving the high temp/high pressure plastic molding process.

How high? 160˚C temperature and 18,000 kPA pressure, that’s how high.

Needless to say, a sturdy plastic was required for this task, and they found it in the Figure 4 HI TEMP 300-AMB, which is a rigid, transparent and rigid plastic designed for ultra-high temperature environments.

The ADDLAB completed the prints and had them sent to the mold maker in just 2 days.

“That’s the magic of in-house 3D printing,” said Gautier Destrebecq, the team member at Decathlon who was responsible for the new designs. “I am less stressed in my design and am able to achieve goals that are impossible using a traditional approach.”

About Figure 4 Modular

So what is the Figure 4 Modular exactly, and what other materials are available for those wishing to expand their rapid product development capabilities?

At its core is the non-contact membrane Digital Light Printing technology used for curing photopolymer resins to the desired shape.

The base configuration of Figure 4 Modular consists of a single printer (or “print engine”) and a central controller.

Taking this core technology and scaling it up to customer requirements it is possible to add up to 24 print engines allowing users to churn out up to 10,000 parts per month.

This feat is managed largely through the Figure 4 Modular’s ability for automated job management, queuing and material delivery.

These capabilities are ideal for serial production, particularly users wishing to replace their traditional molding and cast urethane processes (as seen in the fishing product).

Speaking of materials, each printer can run different materials and different jobs as part of a single high throughput line serving a multitude of parts being produced.

So if like Decathlon, you are dabbling with a new product line but don’t wish to disrupt existing manufacturing efforts you might want to consider investing in a versatile modular system.