Success Stories
Dimension SST 3D Printer Empowers M3 Design
Founded in 1996, M3 Design is a multi-disciplinary product development team that creates breakthrough products for the global market. M3 develops new products for consumer electronic, consumer product, medical, machine design and network device companies including Microsoft, PetSafe, AMD, Litrex and Dell.
“We needed a solution that would be a natural fit in our design process, allowing us to make as many iterations as we needed to achieve the high level of innovation and creativity we are known for.”
— Walt Carver, Mechanical Engineering Manager, M3
The company’s internal design team is driven by M3’s philosophy and methodology,
which fosters an environment where the team is empowered to explore numerous concepts and ideas. The design team approaches each unique development challenge from every possible angle, and makes numerous iterations to improve the product's aesthetics and functionality.
For years, the M3 design team used outside rapid prototyping service providers to create physical models of their design concepts. While the purchase of the Dimension significantly reduced rapid prototyping costs, the greatest benefit was the ability to have 3D hard models in hand within hours, rather than days.
In our business, the ability to generate a range of concepts and solutions to address our clients' product development needs is what separates us from other design firms in the industry.
— Jeff Mulhausen, industrial design director for M3
The Dimension Solution
The owner of M3 Design had seen a rapid prototyping machine at a client facility, and grew interested in learning how he could leverage the technology for his own business. After investigating several different 3D printer providers, M3 selected the Dimension® SST 3D Printer.
"What drove us to Dimension was the ABS plastic material used to create the 3D models," said Carver. “We can sand, cut, paint and glue our models.”
The team estimates the printer will pay for itself in the next several months, but what can't be measured is the value of the ability to rapidly iterate designs throughout the development process.