SINTHESI USES HP MULTI JET FUSION TO CREATE NEW TABLE TENNIS ACCESSORIES

Customer at a glance

Since 1992, Sinthesi Engineering has grown to become one of Italy’s top design and engineering services with customers from various industries including automotive, sports equipment, and fashion.

Challenge

As an avid table tennis player, Sinthesi Engineering Founder and CEO Giordano Covini wanted to invent three new products to help him and other players improve their game.

The three products are as follows:

A double net is a second net placed above the original net on the table. Used as a training tool, the net helps players improve precision by attempting to pass the ball between the two nets during practice.

A ping phone holds a player’s Smartphone in place while they play, allowing them to capture video of themselves while they train and refer to these videos to help them improve their techniques.

A bat tester inspects the friction of the dotted tires that are spread across each side of a table tennis racket. Regulations dictate that these tires must meet certain smoothness requirements. The bat tester was adopted by the Italian Table Tennis Federation as an official tool to validate athletes’ rackets.

Sinthesi Engineering had been using various 3D printing technologies since 1994, but in order to invent these new products, they sought the design freedom and short-run production capabilities that are not always available with traditional 3D printing processes.

Solution

In using HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology to create these new accessories, Sinthesi Engineering benefitted from:

Faster production at lower costs. “Thanks to the printing speed of HP MJF technology, we are able to fulfill orders in just 3 days and therefore we don't even have to worry about stocking parts, which considerably reduces costs,” Covini says.

High-quality materials. “Our objects require good mechanical qualities because they have to withstand impacts, pressures, and stresses,” says Covini.

Short-run production. “These are limited series—tens or a few hundred pieces a year,” says Covini. “It would not be economical to produce by Injection Molding or CNC.”

INDUSTRY

Consumer goods and electronics

SECTOR

Sports equipment

MATERIAL

HP 3D HR PA 12