H&T Presspart is a manufacturer specialized in the development and production of devices and components for the pharmaceutical industry, located in L'Arboç (Tarragona, Spain).
Their products are synonymous with competence, quality and innovation worldwide, mastering the technologies of high-precision plastic injection molding, deep-drawing of metals and high-speed assembly. Products are used for the packaging and administration of medicine through various routes, including the respiratory route (inhalers).
In addition to formulation, the reliability of packaging and delivery systems plays a key role in the efficacy of drugs for pharmaceutical and biotech customers. That is why absolute precision and reliability are priorities in H&T Presspart's products and processes.
H&T Presspart contacted Excelencia-tech, Stratasys Platinum Partner in Spain, with the demand for a technology that would be capable of providing tolerances down to 50micron, surface finishes as close to injection molding as possible and capable of printing a wide range of materials; PP-like, ABS, elastomers, transparent materials and even materials with biocompatibility certification.
Three applications were in scope.
Tooling: H&T Presspart needed to be able to produce tooling in-house that would support both the assembly and the quality processes.
Prototypes: H&T Presspart wanted to improve the functionality of prototypes and achieve parts as perfect as those injected in molds, without the need to make a mold.
Adapters: Breathing simulation equipment needs specific adapters to simulate a person's mouth and seal the device perfectly.
The acquisition of Stratasys P3 DLP technology allows H&T Presspart to create tooling in house, enabling the team to apply improvements after testing etc., whether the tools were directly used in production ─ reducing the cost by more than 50%─, or to validate measurement or assembly concepts that would later be machined in steel. This largely avoided tooling adjustments or having to completely rethink a concept.
For prototypes, Origin One allowed the H&T Presspart team to create very complex and very precise geometries which were turned into functional prototypes much faster and at a lower cost than with prototype molds, and which the team would reserve for final materials testing where other things like material statics, for example, are studied.
Often, 3D prints are too rigid and do not allow testing mechanical fasteners such as clips. With P3 DLP printing technology and Loctite® IND405 material, this has improved a lot, making prototype parts that are later injected in PP with excellent strength results.
Other materials that are worth mentioning are Henkel elastomers. Specifically, Loctite® IND402 or P3 Stretch 475.
“These are used in devices for respiratory simulation that require an adapter that emulates a person's mouth and must seal the device, so each adapter is specific,” H&T Presspart explained.
It used to take a long time to produce such adapters whereas now with 3D printing and the used materials, these are ready overnight. It allows H&T Presspart to avoid outsourcing manufacturing of these adapters and even allows the team to iterate the design of the device in the mouth area which used to be a limitation.
Cost reduction of 50% for tooling and 80% for adapters
Lead times reduced to less than 24 hours
Highest repeatability, precision and most unique tolerances in the market
The Stratasys Origin One printer enables mass production of end-use parts in a wide range of high-performance materials. It can produce end-use parts with features and surface quality comparable to CNC machining and injection molding while taking advantage of the design capabilities of additive manufacturing.
The Origin One requires minimal support reducing overall labor and material usage. Downstream processing is done in minutes resulting in an end-use part. And you can achieve exceptional design accuracy: industry-leading precision that enables the production of materials with features smaller than 50 μm.
