Before a custom part reaches the clients hands, it is sketched, modeled, reviewed and in many cases revised. This process can take months – longer than most customers would like to wait.

Mercury Customs, a manufacturer of high-end custom motorcycles and components, has a heavy emphasis on groundbreaking design; taking pride in helping passionate customers put their creative visions on the road.

Like many companies in the custom motorcycle industry, Mercury Customs was looking for a way to expedite its custom part design process so that customer orders could be filled faster. Before a custom part reaches the clients hands, it is sketched, modeled, reviewed and in many cases revised. This process can take months – longer than most customers would like to wait.

“With many projects, we weren’t delivering parts to our customers fast enough. Delays were due in large part to third-party outsourcing and other circumstances out of our control,” says Joe Takai, principal for Mercury Customs. “We needed to find a way to streamline our process and give our customers a more concrete schedule for project completion.”

Mercury Customs decided to try a new tool in their shop – a Dimension 3-D printer. Designed to create precise 3-D models, the printers allow companies and individuals to develop complex designs right from their workstation or network.

Mercury Customs decided to try a new tool in their shop – a Dimension 3-D printer. Designed to create precise 3-D models, the printers allow companies and individuals to develop complex designs right from their workstation or network.

“We were very impressed with the capabilities of the Dimension printer,” Takai says. “We no longer rely on third-party vendors in the design process, and our customers are reaping the benefits.”

The printer enables Mercury Customs to create custom accessories and parts for their customers faster, cheaper and more efficiently. By eliminating time-intensive modeling methods, such as injection molding and third-party outsourcing, Mercury Customs has cut the time it takes to fulfill custom part orders by months.

“Prior to purchasing the Dimension 3-D printer, we were restricted by customer schedules and at times would forgo an additional round of revisions because we knew it would add weeks to final delivery,” Takai recalls. “With the 3-D printer in our shop, we have greater control over the final product, as well as the overall cost and timing associated with it. Now our process is so efficient that we can ship some product orders in one week.”

In addition to saving time and money, Mercury is developing products that would not be possible without the 3-D printer. For example, the company created a unique proprietary LED light bar – the Prolite – within the arc of a fender. This part would have been impossible to create solely with injection molding. Mercury Customs not only used the printer to design this complex part, it is used to manufacture it as well. The company plans to further test the 3-D printer in this way, as it strives to deliver the most innovative custom designs on the market.