Key figures
-94 %
Part weight
50 000€
logistics savings / year
3 weeks
start to finish
Problem
The hydraulic block had 33 components, complex assembly, and a design built around the limits of traditional manufacturing. Avant Tecno needed to know what additive manufacturing could do instead.
Solution
3DStep and Enmac redesigned the block as a single AlSi10Mg aluminium part with an integrated filter and optimised hose outlets. Weight dropped from 2,910g to 175g. A working prototype was ready three weeks after the first meeting.
Results
Part count fell from 33 to 1. Assembly time and logistics costs dropped with it. The project also changed how Avant Tecno’s designers approach component geometry going forward.
OptoFidelity builds measurement automation and test systems for customers across industrial R&D and manufacturing. Their product range is wide, their parts are complex, and their customers expect fast delivery. Machining could not keep up.
When the collaboration with 3DStep began in 2016, OptoFidelity already knew its old approach had a ceiling. Machining worked for standard geometries, but it punished complexity with higher costs and longer lead times. For a company supplying customised systems to demanding industrial customers, a six-week part lead time was a commercial liability, not just an inconvenience.
Delivery times that stopped being a problem.
Switching to industrial powder bed 3D printing with MJF and SLS technology meant OptoFidelity could promise customers something it previously could not: fast, reliable delivery regardless of part complexity. Order-to-delivery now runs 2 to 6 business days. That speed feeds directly into OptoFidelity’s own customer commitments.
Batch size economics shifted too. Machining setup costs made small orders expensive. With 3D printing, a one-off complex part and a batch of ten carry similar unit costs, which suited a product portfolio built around customer-specific configurations.
“Working with 3DStep has been straightforward and I am pleased with their level of customer service. Offers and answers to questions come quickly and communication works well.”
Taina Kangastupa
Purchasing and Logistics Manager
OptoFidelity Oy
Responsive service matters in a business where customer timelines are tight and design decisions move fast. Getting a quote back the same day is part of what makes the relationship work.
A shift in how OptoFidelity designs its products.
The deeper change was not in the supply chain but in how OptoFidelity’s engineers think about mechanical design. Powder bed printing requires no support structures, which removed constraints that had shaped part design for years. Parts could be lighter, more complex, and optimised for performance rather than machinability.
Over time, OptoFidelity rebuilt its mechanical design approach around what additive manufacturing makes possible. The geometry choices, the weight targets, the assembly logic: all of it moved forward once the manufacturing method stopped setting the limits.
“The introduction of 3D printing has led to most plastic mechanics being made this way. We have succeeded in implementing a new way of thinking and designing. The mechanical solutions in our products are now based on the possibilities 3D printing offers.”
3DStep’s role in that shift went beyond production. Design consulting, material selection, and fast feedback on new part concepts have been part of the collaboration from the start. Nine years in, the partnership continues to grow with OptoFidelity’s product range.
About OptoFidelity Founded in Finland, OptoFidelity develops measurement automation solutions for customers from R&D through Industry 4.0. They supply turnkey products, fully automated test solutions, customised configurations, and design services.
