HellermannTyton Deploys FDM 3D Printing for End-of-Arm Tooling Manufacturing

The Wythenshawe-based company has reduced operational costs and sped up cycle times since installing the system — and the numbers behind the deployment are worth a closer look.

From Strength Doubts to a £150,000 Commitment

The adoption was not immediate. HellermannTyton's automation project team initially questioned whether additive manufacturing could produce tooling strong enough to withstand the rigours and weight of repeated production cycles. The company had previously dismissed plastic over concerns that strength through the layers was inadequate.

Working with SYS Systems' technical team, which supported the integration of additive manufacturing, the company developed a trial end-of-arm tool using nylon 12 carbon-filled material and tested it in a real-world environment. The trial dispelled the initial strength fears, and HellermannTyton pressed ahead with a £150,000 investment into the Fortus 450.

"Switching end-of-arm tooling to additive manufacturing and bringing this part of the process in-house has been a game-changer," said Wajahat Muhammad, Automation Project Engineer at HellermannTyton.

The Payoff in Production

To date, HellermannTyton has printed 38 different tools on the Fortus 450. Collectively, those tools have completed tens of millions of cycles, producing billions of parts.

The performance gains are substantial:

• Average weight and lead time reductions of up to 50%
• Cost savings of up to 75%
• Iterations completed in a few days, rather than a few weeks via an external supplier

Faster Service, Faster Robots

Chris Andrews of SYS Systems points to design freedom as a key enabler.

"The freedom that design for additive manufacturing allows has enabled HellermannTyton to service, set up and maintain the tools significantly quicker than the ones it used in the past."

That translates directly into uptime. Andrews notes:

"This saves a considerable amount of downtime - previously two to three hours, whereas printed tools are less than one hour, for example."

The lighter tools also change how the automation itself runs:

"The firm is also enjoying reduced automation time cycles due to the lighter payload of the end-of-arm tool, which means effectively running robots faster, optimising output and increasing productivity in manufacturing."

For engineers weighing in-house additive tooling against conventional supply, HellermannTyton's deployment offers a concrete data point: initial material-strength skepticism, resolved through a structured trial with a knowledgeable integration partner, can unlock measurable gains in cost, weight, lead time, and machine uptime.