3D-Printed Safety Shroud Prevents Wasted Material and Safety Hazard

Application: Safety shroud
Material used: Armadillo^® 3D Printer Filament
Industry: Industrial Manufacturing, Robotics

To remedy a workplace safety issue and prevent material waste, Fenner Drives used a cost-effective, 3D-printed safety shroud around their auto coiler. The auto coiler on the Fenner Drives extrusion line uses large bolts as feet, to support and level the equipment. During the beginning stages of production, the extruded material would collect on the floor in preparation for spooling. Often the material would snag on the exposed hardware.

This situation caused a number of safety hazards. If the material would ever get wound too tightly, it could cause enough tension that the material would snap. This would result in the material whipping around the shop potentially harming employees.

“Once again, the 3D-printed solution saved our team time and money.”

The standard solution for this fix would require ordering a replacement foot, designed without the open bolt. This part would have cost the company $150 and would have taken at least a week to be delivered.

The NinjaTek 3D printing department came up with a design that created a cover for the problem bolt, using Armadillo semi-rigid TPU filament. The 3D-printed solution cost $32 and took only one day to print. The 3D printed protective case saved the company time and money and yielded less scrap material during production.