Background
GSK Precision specializes in manufacturing precise automotive products such as mechanical motors, transmission gear parts and engine control unit boxes.
The company is part of the GSK Group Ltd., the largest automotive component manufacturer in Taiwan.

The Challenge
Rapid technological advances and competition that has increased dramatically in the past few years have created new challenges for producers of automotive components. Under increasing pressure to accelerate design cycles, GSK Precision found it difficult to uphold the high standards of innovation and quality its products
are known for.

One method of shortening product development cycles is high-quality rapid prototyping, but GSK Precision was not getting full benefit from its standard prototyping workflow. "We had always contracted out our prototyping," said Hsi-Rui Chang, Chief of Management at GSK Precision. "Process-wise, this was not effective, as it always took too long and did not allow us to cut our total production time. "

The company decided to investigate options for rapid prototyping systems that it could bring in-house.

The Solution
After evaluating systems using different types of technologies, the design team selected an inkjet 3D printing system, the Objet Eden260V.

"We found the Objet Eden260V prototypes to be of very high precision and quality," said Chang. "We were also impressed by the fact that the Objet Eden260V hardware is very forward-looking, so that it can also address our future needs."

The GSK Precision team also liked the Objet 3D printer's ability to create prototypes with rubber-like materials. Soft materials are particularly relevant
to many automotive applications and, according to the GSK team, are aligned with current trends in rapid prototyping.

The Value
GSK Precision uses the Objet Eden260V 3D Printer to prototype highly accurate parts such as transmission gears, with ultra-fine detail usually only available with
high-cost systems. Engineers can verify and test product appearance, assembly, and kinematic behavior – so that they, and their clients, have full confidence when
reaching production.

Frequent, in-house prototyping has also strengthened client communications and increased customer satisfaction. "Clients can see tangible product samples much earlier in the process, and our engineers can better understand clients' feedback," said Chang.

With the Objet 3D Printer, GSK Precision is more competitive. It has cut its prototyping costs by about 5-10% and it has shortened its product development
cycles by one month. "Previously when we contracted our prototyping, we were always plagued by long waiting periods which seriously affected production
dates. Our ability to independently produce high-quality prototypes in-house has immensely shortened our production times," said Chang. "Most important,
however, is that the Objet printer has significantly improved our client's satisfaction and confidence."