Case study · Aerospace & UAV

West Coast Industries: cost-efficient aerospace tooling

West Coast Industries, an aircraft and aerospace tooling manufacturer, worked with GoProto Inc, a product development and custom manufacturing firm in San Diego, California, to produce highly durable parts.

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Two 3D-printed tool handles side by side
PhotoPrinted handles for the portable drilling tool.
Customer
West Coast Industries
With
GoProto Inc
Industry
Aerospace & UAV
Application
Handles for a portable aircraft drilling tool
Printing
HP Multi Jet Fusion
Finishing
PostPro3D
Published

The challenge

West Coast Industries uses a metal portable tool to drill high-precision holes in loaded aircraft components. Compressed air drives the tool through a 2.5 HP air motor, and the hot air became an issue for operators’ hands. The tools are also dropped often, and the material and shape of the handle made them expensive to replace. The fragile parts had become a major issue in the production chain.PDF

What the parts needed

Complex geometries, low thermal conductivity and the durability to pass destructive testing.

The full case study shows how West Coast Industries saved time and money while improving part performance, with parts finished on PostPro3D, the earlier generation of AMT’s automated vapor smoothing systems.

West Coast Industries on video

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FootageLength 2:52

AMT & GoProto Conduct Impact Test on 3D Printed Parts Before & After Post Processing

An impact test for West Coast Industries: pneumatic drill handles printed on HP MJF by GoProto, thrown unprocessed and vapor smoothed on the PostPro3D, the first-generation system.

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

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