【Putzbrunn, G】From Jawbones to Rocket Nozzles: Putzbrunn Company Manufactures Metal and Plastic Parts Using 3D Printing

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Editor’s Note

This article highlights the remarkable scale and versatility of modern additive manufacturing. From medical implants to aerospace components, the technology showcased here demonstrates how rapid prototyping and small-batch production are reshaping industries.

Protolabs-Geschäftsführer Daniel Cohn mit einem Bohrkopf mit Supportstruktur auf einer Trägerplatte.
A Rapidly Growing Technology

Since two and a half years ago, the German branch of the US specialist “Protolabs” has been producing in the Putzbrunn industrial park. On 7,000 square meters, 180 employees manufacture over 440,000 parts per year. Made from metal and plastic, these include prototypes and small series, ranging from skull bones or knee joints to circuit boards, house models, artworks, jewelry, and even rocket nozzles for SpaceX.

Company Origins and Technological Leap

Twenty-five years ago, entrepreneur and computer nerd Larry Lukis founded Protolabs in Maple Plain, Minnesota.

“He wanted to have prototypes manufactured,” reports Daniel Cohn, Managing Director of Protolabs in Putzbrunn. “Just getting a quote took four weeks, and he didn’t hold the parts in his hands until six months later. Lukis thought this had to be much faster, and so he began automating the manufacturing process.”

Lukis developed software that communicated with a network of milling machines and injection molding presses. This allowed him to produce plastic and metal parts in a fraction of the time previously required. In the following years, he further developed injection molding, introduced an express process for CNC machining, and opened production facilities in Europe and Japan.

“From 2014 onwards, 3D printing became interesting. With it, you can manufacture any part a person can imagine. Everything is created layer by layer from precisely melted metal or plastic. Many parts would technically not be possible at all with injection molding, drilling, and milling,” explains Cohn, who has been with Protolabs since 2016.
Specialized Facility Requirements

In 2015, Protolabs acquired a bankrupt 3D printing company in Feldkirchen. However, with annual growth rates of 15 percent and a rapidly expanding machine park, the premises quickly became too small, and the company sought a location in the greater Munich area.

“We looked at many potential locations, but nowhere were we treated as perfectly and accommodatingly as in Putzbrunn,” praises Cohn.
“For additive manufacturing, i.e., 3D printing, you need your own building. We require several extreme climate and temperature zones, a lot of cooling and compressed air. We have 750 square meters dedicated solely to building technology alone.”
High-Tech Production and Skilled Workforce

At the center of the three-story building on Hermann-Oberth-Straße are 67 3D printing machines; each costs between 250,000 and 1.5 million euros and cannot tolerate any temperature fluctuations. Additionally, there are milling and drilling machines as well as sandblasting units. The administration and manual work areas are located in the outer corridors. Every printed part must be manually post-processed after cooling, removal of powder, and separation from the large blocks. According to Cohn, this is genuine manufacturing work alongside high-tech printing.

“We produce around 440,000 parts from plastic and metal per year. Today, 50 percent are still prototypes, including one-quarter single parts and one-quarter small series of up to 3,000 pieces, manufactured by our 180 employees, 110 of whom are in production,” explains Cohn.

Since the profession of “3D printer” does not exist, they have many career changers alongside engineers: from gastronomy, medical technology, or mechatronics.

“We place great value on inclusion among our 19 nationalities.”
Diverse Applications and Key Sectors

High-tech and “top secret” parts are manufactured: jewelry, watches, artworks, building models, parts for car engines and transmissions, electronic connectors and circuit boards, rocket nozzles and drive components, fuel cells, and drill heads for geothermal drilling. A major sector is medical technology with individually manufactured hip joints, knee joints, ankle joints, vertebrae, skull, or jawbones, all three-dimensionally printed from titanium.

“We successfully manufacture and assemble air conditioning units, which are in extremely high demand nationwide,” says Cohn.

They print in Putzbrunn using five different technologies, with new ones constantly being added.

“There is no single 3D printing. Everything is developing at a breakneck speed, and we are part of it. We have 15 percent sales growth per year and are constantly looking for new employees – which is not easy.”
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⏰ Published on: April 13, 2024