With FX20, a manufacturer company in the surveillance industry internalizes production and prints end use parts in 2 days. KST Moschkau
With this large format 3D printer, KST Moschkau brings in house the production of its housings for surveillance cameras, overcoming the uncertainty of the supply chain.
THE COMPANY
KST Moschkau is a German company specialized in the design and production of video surveillance devices. It was founded by the Moschkau family in 1985. Since then the company has evolved by creating several dedicated departments for the production of their devices, in particular the system creation division provides a wide array of products and components with special attention to customized productions.
THE NEED
KST Moschkau designs and launches several new products and technologies. In 2020 it has introduced a new housing for its cameras that make up their video surveillance systems. At first the design of the housing was developed internally and then the production was handed over to external mechanic workshops that were able to produce the housing starting from aluminium raw material.
The customers’ demand for this product exceeded the expectations of KST Moschkau and so the company was forced to find a solution to quickly increase the internal production. The production was even further complicated by the vast number of small orders with different customizations asked by the customers.
Due to the number of components with different forms and to the lack of control over the delivery delays KST Moschkau needed to find a different solution.
THE SOLUTION
KST Moschkau decided to introduce a Markforged FX20 3D printer in its production cycle; in this way it is possible to for them to produce internally the 3 parts that make up the housing without the need to change tools and fixtures for CNC machines. Furthermore they no longer needed external partners, being able to control internally the whole production cycle.
The Markforged FX20 3D printer is the most recent model released by the company, boasting a wide printing volume of 525x400x400 mm that allows the production of big dimension components with great speed. It combines the simple management of FDM 3D printers, such as the tear up removal of supports, a wide choice of materials for the industrial and aerospace industries thanks to the option to print reinforced materials with continuous reinforce fibers and Ultem 9085.
THE ADVANTAGES OBTAINED WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF 3D PRINTING
With the introduction of the FX20 3D printer, KST Moschkau has at its disposal a machine able to produce in only one printing job 3 different components without the need to further divide them avoiding other assembly phases.
Having the 3D printer in house, KST Moschkau can not only manage internally the production of their components but also increase the efficiency of the prototyping of its projects.
The characteristics of Onyx as a printing material allow to achieve a smooth surface finish, in line with the end use requirements, and mechanical toughness that makes the printed housing fitting to be used and installed directly outdoors. After the post-processing, the structure of the housing is not aesthetically different from its counterpart in aluminium. The only noticeable difference is the lower weight. This new production method allowed the structure to withstand adverse weather conditions such as rain, UV light and extreme variations in temperature.
In the words of Felix Moschkau, the owner:
“The shift to additive production allowed us to immediately reduce the costs and to accelerate enormously production, giving us the flexibility to obtain prototypes and to iterate the design accordingly to our standards before validation.
The excellent surface finish and the toughness of Onyx helped us to maintain the high-quality standards decided to our products.”
3DZ, an expert partner
Want to learn more about FX20? At 3DZ in Porto and in Castelfranco Veneto, you can find it in the showroom. Our 3D printing experts will be happy to walk you through the features and benefits of this machine.
We of 3DZ are expert distributors of 3D printing and scanning from the best brands on the market. We help companies choose the right technology and materials for their specific needs.
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