Schneider Electric's 'Factory of the Future' strategy adds Stratasys 3D printing

Specializing in electricity distribution, automation management and the production of installation components for energy management, Schneider Electric is using a combination of Stratasys PolyJet and FDM based 3D Printing solutions for product development, prototypes and industrialization. This comprises multiple applications, including injection molding and assembly-line tooling, the design and production of which is managed via the company’s internal model shop, Openlab. The immediate savings estimated to amount to up to 90% in both time and money since deploying Stratasys 3D printing solutions across its production operations in Grenoble, France, according to a press release. “This year, Schneider will launch around 400 new solutions, which is more than one a day,” says Sylvain Gire, Vice-President GSC Transformation-Industrialization at Schneider Electric. “Therefore, it is critical that we adopt technologies that help us reduce time-to-market.” “As well as the astronomical cost-saving enjoyed from 3D printing injection molds, we’ve also drastically cut the time taken to produce them, so we’re looking at a win-win every time,” he adds. “Manufacturing the prototype molds in aluminum necessitates – in some cases – a lead time of as much as two months, but with Stratasys’ 3D printing solutions, the whole process is completed within a week. That’s a roughly 90 percent saving again, which would be unfathomable with any other technology.”