Saint-Gobain and 3D printing: Increasing the efficiency of your production processes

The automotive glazing tycoon Saint-Gobain prints its tooling to increase the efficiency of its automotive production line

BCN3D 3D printers as well as other innovative technological solutions enable Saint-Gobain engineers at the L'Arboç plant in Barcelona to significantly improve the efficiency of production processes performing; parts and components for automotive customers including Daimler Mercedes, Stellantis Group, Volkswagen Group, Renault Dacia and Ford. By creating its tooling on 3D printers, the Spanish factory of the French giant has improved and reduced costs and time, producing the tooling implemented on automated production lines.

This success story illustrates how BCN3D's 3D printing technology can be of great help to the automotive industry and ranks the 3D printer manufacturer as a strategic partner of this industrial sector worldwide. This success is due to the effective implementation of BCN3D devices, including to Seat and Nissan production facilities in recent years.

Since 2019, Saint-Gobain Sekurit has been using 3D printing technology at its L'Arboç plant - where 19 million different car windows (rear and side) are produced annually - which has replaced many years of outsourcing the production of its tooling with significantly higher costs compared to 3D printing.

The implementation of this 3D printing technology allowed the Spanish Saint-Gobain plant to save around 170,000 euros and cut tooling lead times by 93%. 3D printed parts take the form of tools, devices and fixtures used throughout the production process.

“At Sekurit, we have been producing automotive components for 90 years. Thanks to 3D printing, we have achieved a significant reduction in costs and a faster production process, tailored to our needs in the production of tools and instrumentation ", explains Angel Salas, a maintenance engineer at Saint-Gobain.

3D printing is revolutionizing production at Saint Gobain

The Saint-Gobain factory in Barcelona has incorporated 3D printing technology (including IDEX technology) into its prototyping and production departments along with several BCN3D Epsilon W50 series printers with Smart Cabinets, making it easier for a reputable company to develop new ideas, and easily and conveniently create prototypes in less time time compared to other machining technologies, as well as testing and creating final parts in a few days, while maintaining the highest quality.