1. Time is of the essence
The latest 3D Printing Trend Report 2024 from Protolabs reveals that 47% of companies choose 3D printing primarily to shorten their deadlines and that 82% achieve "substantial" savings in operating costs.
Source: protolabs.com
2. Four accelerators that outsourced FDM provides
| Accelerator | Typical Benefit | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Prototyping in hours | Validate form and assembly on the same day | Internal lead-time for jigs at Ford: from 8–10 weeks to 2‑3 days |
| Rapid tooling | Tools ready in 24h | 90% reduction in average lead time when printing fixtures on BigRep |
| First series without molds | Pilot batches of 50–500 units without investment in dies | Recurring lighting cases at J.W. Speaker |
| Digital inventory | Less physical stock, instant replenishment | Ford and BigRep maintain STL libraries for on-demand reprinting |
3. Success cases with outsourced FDM only
- Ford Motor Company – Large jigs 3D-printing on BigRep: 94% less time (from 8 weeks to 3 days) for assembly tooling.
- J.W. Speaker (Lighting) – Nylon 12 CF printed fixtures: 78% faster than internal machining (9h vs 1 week) and 89% vs external suppliers; savings of 50‑60k$ annually.
4. Metrics that convince the CFO
| KPI | Average Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Main reason for adopting 3D printing | 47% cite deadline reduction | protolabs.com |
| Companies reporting significant savings | 82% | protolabs.com |
| Ford jigs lead-time | –94% | BigRep Industrial 3D Printers |
| J.W. Speaker fixtures savings | 50–60k$ / year | stratasys.com |
5. How to integrate Kovizu's FDM into your development flow
- Detect bottlenecks: parts that slow down prototyping or assembly.
- Send your CAD: we print in PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA or Nylon CF according to the application.
- Iterate in parallel: we print several variants in the same batch and send them to you in 24–48h.
- Measure and decide: check assembly, ergonomics and resistance; adjust CAD only where it adds value.
- Scale with agility: when you move from prototype to pilot series, we expand the number of machines and shifts in our workshop—without you investing a euro in hardware or training.
6. Best practices for express time-to-market
- Always full bed: we plan 24/7 queues for you.
- Custom post-processing: sanding, vapor smoothing or painting according to final need.
- Parametric templates: if your part changes size, we adapt the script and reprint instantly.
- Digital library: we save your versioned STL/G-code to repeat or modify in minutes.
7. Conclusion
Reducing time-to-market no longer requires buying printers or training staff: just a specialized partner. With our large-format FDM stations and industrial materials, Kovizu delivers prototypes, tooling or pilot batches in 24–48 hours, with savings of up to two digits in time and cost compared to traditional methods.
Ready to shorten your deadlines without investing in machinery? Request your per-piece printing quote and let Kovizu accelerate your next launch.