$175,000/year – reducing costs and improving efficiency with Ultimaker S5

IMI Precision Engineering, a world leader in hydraulic systems and automation technologies, is a company dedicated to creating solutions that deliver speed and precision to customers’ machines. By using the Ultimaker S5 for in-house additive manufacturing, the team was able to save time and money on low-volume parts, while reducing energy consumption and improving production line performance.

Savings over $17,500 per year and improving production efficiency

“The Ultimaker S5 offered the best value with the size and materials we needed to print all the parts. It added new features to other machines we purchased last year, with lower costs for low-volume parts and improved manufacturing efficiency.” — – Kathryn Jones, IMI Graduate Engineer

Provoke

IMI Precision Engineering relied on a manual manufacturing process that was expensive and did not offer sufficient design freedom. Every year they spent thousands of dollars machining parts, wasting valuable production time on another 3D printer that lacked essential features. They also needed a better way to control the weight of products and improve their efficiency.

Solution

After researching over 130 machined parts and selecting 18 of them to test their 3D printing capability, IMI graduate engineer Kathryn Jones narrowed her search for a desktop 3D printer to Ultimaker and Formlabs. The Ultimaker S5 offered the best value and time savings compared to another 3D printer brand, saving thousands of dollars in manufacturing costs and delivering a return on investment in four months.

Cost comparison

The IMI Precision Engineering team saw a rapid return on investment using the Ultimaker S5, while also seeing significant savings in time and money.

Description of the parts Cakes ahead Traditional manufacturing 3D printing on Ultimaker

Spring key (hard PLA) 721 $3,118 per year $872 per year

Saddle (nylon and Breakaway) 8 $6,296 per year $674 per year

End Caps (TPU 95A) 22 $486 per year $99 per year

IMI Graduate Engineer Kathryn Jones explains:

“The total cost of printing select parts is $3,653, saving $17,747 per year.

Thanks to these savings, we were able to achieve a return on investment for the Ultimaker S5 in just four months. «

result

Low Costs: The IMI Precision Engineering team saved thousands of dollars on low-volume parts and quickly amortized the cost of the Ultimaker S5.

Design Freedom: With the Ultimaker S5, IMI Precision Engineering has experienced greater design and redesign freedom for faster part production.

Increased Efficiency: The team improved efficiency and saved nearly 2,000 manufacturing hours when designing and 3D printing 18 low-volume parts using the Ultimaker S5.

Weight savings: 3D printing parts on the Ultimaker S5 means greater control over infill densities and wall thicknesses of parts to reduce overall weight.

Increased Efficiency (Time and Cost Savings) ⏱️

• Benefit: The team improved efficiency and saved nearly 2,000 manufacturing hours when designing and 3D printing 18 low-volume parts.

• Significance: For low-volume parts or specialized components (prototypes, tooling, custom fixtures), 3D printing drastically reduces the lead time and labor required compared to traditional methods that often involve creating custom tooling or programming complex CNC machines. The saving of 2,000 hours for just 18 parts demonstrates a massive return on investment, allowing the team to focus labor on high-value, high-volume production.

3. Weight Savings (Performance Optimization) ⚖️

• Benefit: 3D printing parts on the Ultimaker S5 provides greater control over infill densities and wall thicknesses to reduce overall weight.

• Significance: This is a crucial advantage, particularly in industries where weight directly impacts performance, fuel efficiency, or operational costs. By controlling the infill density (the internal structure of the part), engineers can create components that are strong on the exterior but nearly hollow or have a lightweight lattice structure internally. This allows for material optimization and results in maximum strength-to-weight ratio, without compromising the part’s functionality.