Using 3D Printer to print a valve that goes on a OEM machine they sell. The valve is used in an extremely corrosive and harsh environment requiring strength and corrosion resistance. The complex part had to be outsourced and made of stainless steel and cost $100. The part is now made in house in carbon fiber on a 3D printer and costs $2 to make. This has made the company more curious about what else they can create, shifting the way they think about production and their business. CEO sites culture change as the most important outcome.

This solution involves converting the readout of a traditional analog gauge information into digital data using a sophisticated vision system. The system is deployed in a brewery. They had many old fully functional pieces of equipment such as boilers, stills, etc. These were all controlled and monitored by humans using traditional analog instruments. In the solution an intelligent camera system converted the analog information into digital information that was fed into a computer system for downstream analysis. The major advantages were reducing the amount of time required to measure, ensuring that measurements were taken at a precise schedule with fewer errors, and the ability to increase the frequency of measurements.

Ability to 3D print actual production fluid power manifolds for pressure sensors being sold to large auto OEM