BMS Circuits Is Optimizing its Production Flow by Integrating 3D Printing

All Circuits is an electronics subcontractor that designs electronic boards for the automotive, medical and mass-market sectors. Its Bayonne site, BMS Circuits, which is responsible for medium and large production runs, has been investing in fused deposition modeling 3D printing since the end of 2020 in order to produce prototypes and end-use parts, which are installed on operators’ workstations. Supported by the French distributor Atome3D, BMS Circuits has been able to reduce its manufacturing times and costs, while being able to test and trial several designs. 3D printing has become an integral part of the company today; it is a work tool that the teams can no longer do without.

It was the Methods department at the Bayonne site that was the driving force behind this investment, the department in charge of product industrialization. Its manager, Jules Cote, was already familiar with 3D printing and was quickly convinced of its benefits. He explained: “I knew Atome3D and I made the choice to invest in a machine for the department. To invest, you have to convince management of the benefits of the technology. It was quite quick because when you look at the prices of what can be done on machining and the prices we will have internally in 3D printing, the machine is quickly profitable.” Many of the parts used by BMS Circuits were in fact subcontracted, which lengthened manufacturing times. Thanks to 3D printing, the teams can produce some of these parts directly in-house and considerably reduce the time between design and delivery of the object. For example, on average, it takes one week to manufacture a part using machining, compared to 2 hours and 20 minutes using a 3D printer. And on the price side, in machining, the teams are on average around 200 euros per part against 10 euros in 3D printing.

BMS Circuits manufactures electronic cards (photo credits: BMS Circuits)

The choice of the 3D printer was facilitated by the expertise and advice of Atome3D, according to the needs and specifications of the French group. Indeed, antistatic constraints had to be respected in the workshop and materials had to be chosen to meet them. Moreover, the machine had to be easy to use and quick to learn. This is why Atome3D recommended the M200 Plus from Zortrax, coupled with the PLA-ESD material from 3Dxtech. This is a material that provides protection against electrostatic discharges. Jules Cote adds, “To make things easier, once we find a material that works well, we leave it in the machine and only run with that one at 90%. Our goal is for it to work quickly and easily.” The printer has been running in the shop since October 2020, with very satisfactory results.