Additive
solutions forU.S. Air Forcesustainment
challenges

Case Study

Using the Stratasys Origin®
One, the team was awarded
first place for an optimized
version of the traditional
C3175-9J hydraulic line
clamp used in F-16 aircraftthat meets stringent
aerospace flight criteria.

2 2Final clamp revision with a printed-on elastomer tether for ease of installation.

Document
Case
StudyTitle Here

Ongoing sustainment foraging aircraft components
The U.S. Air Force increasingly faces sustainment
challenges, including cost, speed, and supply
chain agility, when using traditional manufacturingmethods to maintain aging aircraft components.
The department often seeks innovative engineeringsolutions to keep aircraft aloft and to modernize
the fleet. In 2020, they hosted an open competition
to quickly find new and creative 3D printing
solutions for the C3175 family of hydraulic line
clamps. Thousands of these clamps are usedin the Air Force’s F-16 aircraft, in areas likelanding gear cavities, and they frequently failafter extended exposure to vibration, chemicals
in the environment, and heat cycling. Historically,
these clamps have been injection molded or CNCmachined from a phenolic material that off-gases
toxic formaldehyde.

nTopology and Stress Engineering Services
reached out to Origin (which was acquired byStratasys in 2021) to collaborate on a new design
and manufacturing solution for the C31759J clamp. The team aimed to leverage Origin
One’s P3™ technology, nTopology’s topology
optimization algorithms, and Stress Engineering
Services’ design and analysis expertise. It took just
two weeks while performing daily design iterations,
prototyping, and testing replacement designs toland on a new, 3D printed solution that meetsstringent airworthiness requirements, weighs lessand is more efficient to manufacture.

3 3Finding a suitable material

Next-level part production

For the clamp halves, the team selected aninnovative, flame-retardant material from Henkel
that could meet the Air Force’s stringent flightrequirements and had passed UL 94 V-0(burning stops within 10 seconds). LOCTITE®
3955, a flame, smoke, toxicity (FST) rated
photopolymer material, is flame-retardant,
extremely chemically resistant and can also
handle wide low and high temperature ranges.
LOCTITE 3955 avoids the stress relaxation
behavior inherent in thermoplastic materials.

The Stratasys Origin One is a transformative 3D
printer enabling mass production of end-use partsin a diverse range of high-performance materials.
Manufacturers can achieve industry-leading
accuracy, consistency, detail and mechanicalproperties with Programmable PhotoPolymerization
P3™ technology. High throughput, combined with
best-in-class repeatability, helps expand production
without delays, for faster launch times and flexibility
in response to shifts in demand, while maintaining
minimal inventory. Take on the most demanding
applications today.

The team used advanced software on the Origin
One to print in two different materials, the stiff,
flame retardant material and a flexible elastomer,
LOCTITE IND402, which acted as a tether toconnect the two clamp halves. This simplified
downstream assembly for the aircraft technicians,
making it easier to install the clamps in the field.
Each assembly was serialized during print for partinventory, traceability, and part provenance.
Using the Origin One platform reduces thehigh cost of tooling for low-volume or custom
production and provides the flexibility to changepart designs quickly and cost-effectively. Quality
can be kept high, and costs can be brought
down. For this application, Stratasys Origin One
is capable of producing 54 clamp halves in 24
minutes. 1,296 clamp halves can be printed
using one printer in a single day. Post-processing
a printed batch can be completed in roughly
20 minutes.
A winning final product

Document
Case
StudyTitle HereIn an exciting climatic event, the RSO-hosted
Advanced Manufacturing Olympics, the Origin,nTop and Stress team took first prize in thechallenge and beat out stiff competition fromexpert teams and OEMs across the U.S.
Ultimately, the team printed over 400 different
parts, as well as custom test fixtures for internalfunctional testing. 100 tests looked at installation,
tubing retention, temperature effects tolerances,inertial loads, and handling loads. The final,
optimized clamp design for the C3175-9J
employed on F-16 aircraft doubled the strength ofthe original part while weighing less.

4

Stratasys Headquarters

Case Study

7665 Commerce Way,
Eden Prairie, MN 55344+1 800 801 6491 (US Toll Free)+1 952 937-3000 (Intl)+1 952 937-0070 (Fax)

1 Holtzman St., Science Park,PO Box 2496
Rehovot 76124, Israel+972 74 745 4000+972 74 745 5000 (Fax)stratasys.com
ISO 9001:2015 Certified© 2021 Stratasys Ltd. All rights reserved. Stratasys, Stratasys signet, Origin and P3 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Stratasys Ltd.
and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Productspecifications subject to change without notice. CS_AE_P3_High Temp Clamp_0421a