3D Printed Housing

Development of an application-specific housing for a relay board. Instead of an off-the-shelf enclosure requiring manual post-processing, a fully 3D-printed component was created with integrated functions — including the client logo in multi-material printing.

Challenge: Off-the-shelf standard enclosure with extensive manual post-processing, high unit costs, and long lead times

Solution: Fully design-for-manufacturing custom design with integrated functions and multi-material printing

Result: Approx. 50% lower unit costs, no post-processing, immediately available, integrated branding and visible status LEDs

Project Info

• Services: Concept, design, CAD, design for manufacturing, 3D printing
• Domain: Product development · 3D printing · Housing development
• Industry: Electronics · Embedded systems
• Project type: Optimization of existing solution · Near-series in-house production

Background

For a relay board deployment, a purchased standard electronics enclosure had previously been used. This caused several problems: high unit costs, lead times for reorders, and above all time-consuming manual post-processing — drilling mounting holes, adding cable entry points, applying labels, mounting the board. The standard enclosure worked functionally, but was not ideally suited to the application.

3D printing offered itself as an alternative because functions can be integrated directly into the geometry, on-demand production is possible instead of stock-based, and design changes can be made without tooling costs.

Construction & Execution

The housing was designed from the ground up for 3D printing. All functions that previously had to be added manually are contained directly in the print geometry: mounting points for the board with exact spacing, cable entry points in the correct position and size, reinforcement structures, assembly aids.

The most notable solution is the logo integration via multi-material printing: the client logo (here: Graphos Berlin) is not printed on or stuck on, but printed directly with the housing in a second material. In the same process, transparent areas are created in the lid through which the status LEDs on the board can be read from the outside — without opening the housing.

The part is ready for immediate use after printing, without post-processing or additional assembly steps.

Results

• Reduction in unit costs by approx. 50% compared to the purchased enclosure
• Elimination of manual post-processing per unit
• Immediate availability without lead times, reproducibly printed in-house
• Integrated branding without a separate work step
• Functionally improved through visible status LEDs during operation

Applicability to Other Projects

This approach can be applied to many areas of 3D print design where compromises with standard parts are currently made:

• Function integration instead of post-processing — holes, cutouts, cable routing, mounting points, and labels integrated directly into the print geometry rather than added afterwards.
• Application-specific housings and structural components — when standard parts are not a precise fit, cause high adaptation costs, or have long lead times.
• Branding and labeling in the part — logos, serial numbers, or operating elements produced in multi-material printing, without stickers or laser engraving.
• On-demand instead of stock-holding — reproducible parts printed as needed, without minimum order quantities or tooling costs.
• Iterative optimization in the field — reworking existing products and making them both more cost-effective and functionally better through additive manufacturing.

3D printing becomes a particularly useful choice when volumes, depth of customization, or function integration make the use of conventional standard parts uneconomical or functionally insufficient.