“3D printing has become my one of my routines,” says Lee. “It is very attractive technology that allows us to print whatever idea we have in mind, and produce it in full color.”
The design department at Hankook Tire uses a ProJet CJP 660 3D printer by 3D Systems as a key part of its concept design process. 3D printing technology has helped the design team deliver better communication between departments, save on costs, and improve design data security.
Founded in 1941, Korea’s Hankook Tire is currently both the seventh-largest tire manufacturer in the world and one of the fastest growing. Now selling in 185 countries worldwide, the company has developed a reputation for high-quality tires at reasonable prices. But the tire industry comes with intense competition, and Hankook takes design and development of new products seriously. As part of their commitment to provide top-notch tires, Hankook looks for the best ways to enable rapid development and testing of innovative tire designs while keeping those in-progress designs secret.
With this in mind, the company invested in a 3D Systems ProJet® CJP 660, a 3D printer that uses ColorJet technology (CJP) to create perfect full-color models that can be assessed for form and function.
Myungjoong Lee, CAD professional in Hankook Tire’s design department, prints a tire design in the ProJet 660 before he leaves at the end of the day, and the final model will be waiting for him when he gets to work next morning. With the size of the models being created, it takes about seven to eight hours to build a finished mockup model overnight.
