Metal Binder Jetting Instead of Investment Casting for Jewelry Applications
When a manufacturing process has been the standard for decades, it takes a compelling reason to replace it. For the long-established French company EAC—which has specialized in metal hardware for shoes, leather goods, and accessories since 1992—that reason was the combination of tooling costs, lead times, and limited design freedom associated with traditional manufacturing processes. The solution: Metal Binder Jetting on a Desktop Metal Shop System.
Why Traditional Methods Have Reached Their Limits
Until now, EAC manufactured its metal hardware components using Zamak die casting, hot and chemical stamping of brass, and lost-wax casting. All three processes have one thing in common: they require complex, expensive tooling that only pays off at high production volumes—and that must be remade with every design change. For an industry that releases new collections twice a year, this is a structural problem.
Case Study: EAC Replaces Investment Casting with Metal Binder Jetting
By switching to a Desktop Metal Shop system, EAC can produce complex geometries that were technically impossible with previous methods—completely tool-free. The figures the company has published are concrete: Up to 17,600 individual parts can be produced per week, with no downstream assembly required. For a custom-designed jewelry and accessories collection, production and assembly time is reduced by 250 hours. Since the components are supported within the powder bed, manual post-processing to remove support structures is also eliminated—a cost factor that is often underestimated in traditional additive manufacturing.
Patrick Chouvet, CEO of EAC, sums up the strategic benefits:
“It’s in EAC’s DNA to offer our customers creatively designed products—with the Shop System, that’s now a reality—we can partner with our customers and make their designers’ dreams come true.”
— Patrick Chouvet, CEO, EAC
Buying a Binder Jetting Printer: Lessons from the EAC Case Study
Anyone looking to buy a binder jetting printer to reduce tooling costs and lead times should follow EAC’s example: The switch is particularly worthwhile where frequent design changes, small- to medium-sized batch sizes, and complex geometries converge—a pattern found in everything from fashion accessories to small technical parts and customized hardware. Cost calculations also remain stable as production volumes increase, since no additional tooling costs are incurred.
Getting Started with AM Pioneers
As a technology partner of Desktop Metal, AM Pioneers helps companies assess whether switching from investment casting, die casting, or stamping to a Desktop Metal Shop System is worthwhile—from the initial component analysis through to series production.
You can also find more information about our metal 3D printing technologies on our page about Desktop Metal.
Would you like to know if Metal Binder Jetting is a good fit for your components or collections? Contact us—we offer manufacturer-independent, practical advice.
Frederik Nussbaumer
Head of Sales
+49 172 4059105
frederik.nussbaumer@am-pioneers.com