A product for Moodify

We were asked to design a car air freshener for a startup in the fragrance field. The challenge was the timescale: one month to design an initial prototype and produce 100 trial units for an exhibition abroad.

We took it on and modelled three options straight onto the screen. Once the company chose one, we added the last refinements and sent it to print in nylon 12. It was printed in MJF, and the products were then painted and sent to the exhibition.

A month from an idea to 100 units

The timescale decided every other choice here. With one month until an exhibition abroad there is no time for a long design cycle and no time for tooling. So we modelled three alternatives directly, presented them for a decision, and went straight into production as soon as one was chosen.

The project was produced in MJF – Multi Jet Fusion, nylon powder printing. The part is built layer by layer inside a powder bed, with no supports, and the whole build volume is available for parts. That is what makes the technology suit small runs exactly: the chamber can be filled with dozens of different parts in one build, with no dedicated tooling to pay for.

The material is nylon 12 (PA12) – an engineering material with good mechanical durability, dimensional stability and an even matte finish. See more on choosing a material.

What this says about pilot runs

100 units is exactly the quantity that falls between two stools: too many to make by hand, too few for an injection mould. Additive manufacturing covers that range with no start-up cost, and that is what lets a startup reach the market with a real product before it raises money for mass production.

A similar project of your own?

Send us a file or a description of the problem and you will get a recommendation on technology, material and timescale – talk to an engineer. See also product design and development and 3D printing production.