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How an unusual Christmas story came about in January
Today we would like to tell you a little success story. It is about a belt buckle project that we were able to implement from the 3D Activation for a customer. The starting point for this project was a Christmas card.
But one after anonther. In the beginning there was an order from our later customer, WAN Gesellschaft für Werbung mbH, to develop a Christmas card for a customer.
From the Christmas card to the belt buckle
And so a motif was created with Santa’s coat and a belt with your customer’s logo as a belt buckle.
This motif then gave the customer OL the idea of having these belts made for trade fair appearances.
WAN now set to work on the technical implementation.
In concrete terms, the initial challenge was to make the belts equally wearable for men and women. In addition, they should be designed for a width of 35 mm, which also fits into suit trousers.
The next challenge was to find a manufacturer of belt buckles. This proved to be difficult, as there is hardly a producer for whom a (in this case planned) number of pieces calculated from 25 – 50.
A case in point for 3D printing
This is where 3D printing came into play, as a well-established option to produce even (and especially) small quantities at low cost.
While doing research, the WAN team came across our website and were quickly won over by our offer. Above all, our ability to calculate a price online before making personal contact was very important to the employees involved. After working together, the WAN team particularly appreciated our ability to receive suggestions for improving the files.
The next step was to find the material suitable for this purpose. The first samples with a sample made of PA with aluminum powder were very promising. However, in consultation with WAN, we agreed that a nickel-stainless steel alloy would be better suited for this purpose. After all, belt buckles have to withstand heavy loads, must not rust and should – at least in this context – reflect a certain “value”.
The nickel-stainless steel model that we have now manufactured convinced the customer of WAN (Oskar Lehmann), who then ordered 20 pieces for his trade fair appearance, which we made immediately.
We are pleased that we were able to implement this project to the satisfaction of everyone involved. Read more about exciting projects that we have been able to implement in recent years in our blog.
(Images: Oskar Lehmann/WAN)
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