High Density Stacking Capability Drives Productivity in End-Use 3D Part Producti

Sporting goods retailer seeks to avoid expense of tooling by validating high-speed Figure 4 solution with new 3D Sprint stacked printing feature as the best option to produce safety glasses components.

When faced with a mold injection problem on a small component for shooting glasses that connects the frame to the lenses, Decathlon opted to test the new 3D stacking solution developed by 3D Systems to evaluate additive manufacturing for production. After conducting a feasibility study on the Figure 4 solution and stacking feature, Decathlon’s teams confirmed the productivity and economics of additive manufacturing and decided that this solution could be considered for batch-run production of the final product.

Decathlon

Decathlon S.A. is a French sporting goods retailer. With over 1697 stores in 60 countries and regions, it is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world.

Decathlon, the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, is using the high-speed Figure 4 platform and new stacking feature of 3D Systems’ 3D Sprint® software to enable direct production of 3D printed end-use parts. The stacking feature enables batch production of one or multiple parts through a combination of user-defined and automated tools and removes significant time from the print preparation process.

01 Part Stacking Feature in 3D Sprint Software

3D Sprint is an advanced, all-in-one software that streamlines the file-to-pattern workflow with tools for print file preparation and optimization, including automatic support generation, and optimized part placement to maximize productivity. The new stacking feature helps users print high volume batches with an efficient file preparation workflow.

02 Production-Grade Materials

Decathlon is using the ® PRO-BLK 10 material for this functional eyeglass component, citing the material’s strong rigid properties and fast print speeds (62 mm/hr) as key benefits. This high-precision material produces parts with smooth surface finish and sidewall quality, and has excellent long-term mechanical properties and environmental stability, bringing a new level of assurance to 3D production. From its production feasibility study, Decathlon confirmed reproducibility across print batches and full functionality of the part.

03 Print Speed

A projection-based additive manufacturing technology that uses a non-contact membrane to combine accuracy and amazing detail fidelity with ultra-fast print speeds. Decathlon uses the  Modular system to print stacks of 100 parts in 85 minutes, which is equivalent to just 42 seconds per part. Post-processing modular is a scalable, semi-automated 3D production solution comprised of a central controller that can be paired with a single printer module up to 24 printer modules, making it a flexible option that poises businesses for growth.

04 Post-Processing

The high-density stacking capability brings efficiencies of scale to post-processing as well as part building, allowing Decathlon to treat a batch of parts the same as a single part. This means that the time it would take for Decathlon to clean, cure, and remove the supports from a single part remains the same, even for a batch of 100 parts. For Decathlon’s safety glass application, it takes six minutes to clean all 100 parts, 90 minutes of hands-free time to cure them, and ten minutes to remove supports from the entire batch.

• [Efficiency Improvement - Productivity]
  

  Batch post-processing introduces efficiencies of scale.

• [Cost Reduction - Capital Investment]
  

  Direct digital production replaces expensive injection molding.

• 100 parts per batch printed in less than 90 minutes.

• 80% time savings in stack preparation.

• Decathlon uses the Figure 4 Modular system to print stacks of 100 parts in 85 minutes, which is equivalent to just 42 seconds per part.