3D printed jigs, fixtures and display stands
Drill templates, assembly fixtures, soft jaws and product display stands, custom printed in Barcelona in short runs.
Fixturing is where 3D printing pays for itself fastest, and also what fewest people ask for, because it never occurs to them. A template that puts four screws in the same place every time saves a minute and a mistake per unit. Over a hundred units, the template has paid for itself twenty times over.
Accuracy: what to actually expect
An FDM part lands within about ±0.2 mm on small dimensions, and drifts a little on larger ones. For a drill template that is ample: the bit has more play than that. For a locator that must fit a machined feature within hundredths, it is not. If a dimension is critical, say so and we leave material to be finished with a drill or reamer.
Displays: the other extreme
A display holds nothing up: it has to look right and hold your product at the exact angle that sells it. Finish is what matters. PLA at a fine layer height, sanded and painted, gives a piece that on a shelf is indistinguishable from an injection-moulded one — and unlike a moulded one, you can change the design for the next campaign without scrapping tooling.
From idea to fixture, without CAD
Most fixturing is simple geometry: a plate with holes, a stop, a cradle with the negative of a part. If you have no CAD, send a hand sketch with dimensions and a photo of the part it will hold through the contact form. It is one of the things we model most often, and it usually comes out right first time.
Does a printed jig survive daily use?
Yes, in the right material. Positioning, holding, checking and repeating it does well for months. What wears it fast is direct metal rubbing — a drill, a cutter — and for that steel bushes get embedded at the contact area.
Can you design the jig or must I send it finished?
Either. With the file, it gets printed. If what you have is the part and the problem, send the part or its dimensions and explain the operation you want to repeat: the design is quoted before any work starts.
I need several identical units for different stations.
It is the ideal case: one file, one set-up, and the volume discount applying from three units. And if the jig evolves, you change the file and the next batch comes out improved with no tooling cost at all.
Where it works well
- Drill templates that put holes in the right place, a thousand times over
- Assembly fixtures: cradles, stops and locators for a line
- Soft jaws shaped to your part, so it does not get marked
- Display stands and product holders for shop, trade fair or window
- Drawer organisers and tool boards cut to the actual gap
Where it stops
- Fixtures taking machine loads. A milling vice jaw in plastic, no; a soft jaw to hold without marking, yes.
- Drill guides without a metal bush. The bit eats the plastic within a dozen holes: a bush has to go in.
- Uncoated food contact. Layer lines trap residue and none of our filament is food certified.
- Large flat surfaces over 250 mm. They get split, and a split template loses accuracy.
Recommended materials
Related guides
Got the file for your part?
Upload it to the configurator for an exact price in seconds. If you do not have one yet, we can design it.