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CASE STUDY

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Area Printing® for Aerospace Tooling

Area Printed core pins for aircraft wire clamp molds

Published August 2023 · 8 pages

United Aircraft Technologies (UAT) makes thermoplastic Interconnecting Clamps that hold down aircraft wiring and cut installation time. Multi-cavity injection molds for the clamps take 16 weeks or more and cost $200,000 to $400,000. UAT worked with Seurat to Area Print 316L stainless steel sliding-core pins for those molds.​

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Editor's note: Published August 2023. Figures and forecasts reflect that date. For current information, see Area Printing.

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Key Findings

  • Tooling lead time and cost are a major hurdle for hardware startups. UAT's molds need 16+ weeks and $200,000–$400,000 before the first clamp ships.

  • Seurat printed 316L stainless steel sliding-core pins for UAT's mold trials, building eight pins on one plate alongside tensile bars and density cubes.

  • Core pins are a small part of each tool but add up: UAT expects to need 15 multi-cavity molds, with three core pins per cavity.

  • UAT plans to print more mold components, and possibly complete tool sets, as its production grows.

 

 

“We see the potential Seurat has to revolutionize how businesses like ours can do tooling.”

Eva Rhysing, CEO, United Aircraft Technologies

By the Numbers

  • 30+ miles of wiring and 20,000 clamps in a large commercial aircraft such as the 737; installation takes about six months

  • 50% faster installation with the Interconnecting Clamp

  • Up to 600 pounds of weight saved per commercial aircraft

  • 300,000+ clamps per year expected once UAT is fully commercialized

  • $1.1 million Army SBIR Phase II contract awarded to UAT

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