Innovated Manufacturing

Simple Application. Reliable Tooling.

Fortis is our end of arm tooling solution for common automation applications. It was designed to be lightweight, strong, and easy to use in production. Integrated air lines keep the setup cleaner, the suction cups screw right on and off for quick changes, and the design keeps failure points to a minimum.

The result is a tooling solution that is simple, reliable, and built for manufacturers who want automation to be easier to put to work.

One hidden problem in additive manufacturing is treating layer lines like they are only a surface detail.

For functional parts, layer line direction matters.

A printed part is built one layer at a time, and an important detail is how those layers sit in relation to the force the print will see.

If a bracket, fixture, or tooling component is pulled, bent, clamped, or used repeatedly, you do not want the main force trying to separate the layers from each other.

That is where print orientation becomes a design decision.

The part may have the right shape, but if the layers are lined up poorly for how the part will be used, the part may not perform the way it should.

The part has to be built around the job it is going to do.

Our team had a great week at in Chicago.

We had the chance to walk the show, meet a lot of great people, and see where the automation industry is continuing to move.

We appreciate the conversations, the new connections, and everyone who took the time to connect with us.

Thank you to everyone who helped make it a great event.

This custom end of arm tool we designed weighs just under 4 pounds and was built to pick up 66 pound ceramic rolls.

That is roughly 16 times its own weight.

That ratio matters because the robot is carrying the tool, the mounting, the hardware, and every unnecessary ounce designed into the setup.

If the EOAT is heavier than it needs to be, payload disappears before the robot ever gets to the application.

That is why our custom end of arm tooling work has to balance strength, weight, geometry, grip method, mounting, and load stability from the beginning.

On a project like this, every pound designed out of the tool leaves more room for the robot to handle the work it was actually selected for.

These are the kinds of parts that make additive manufacturing hard to ignore.

Could they be made another way?

In some cases, probably.

But the better question is whether that path makes sense for the quantity, cost, and timeline.

Some parts do not need a mold. They do not need a long tooling path. They do not need weeks of waiting before anyone can find out if the part will actually work.

They need to be functional, made quickly, and realistic for the quantity being ordered.

That is where additive manufacturing fits so well in U.S. manufacturing.

It gives manufacturers another path when traditional production methods are technically possible, but not practical for the job.

This was not what we intended to print.

But it gave us a good opportunity to talk about why failures like this happen.

In additive manufacturing, material condition matters. Filament may seem simple, but it is sensitive to its environment. When moisture gets into the material, the print process becomes less predictable.

In these examples, the same issue showed up in two very different ways.

One part printed with visible tone variation, the other barely made it to the finish line.

Both failures were tied back to wet filament.

That is why drying and storing material properly is not a small detail. Tools like a filament dryer can help keep material in a more stable condition before and during printing.

There are always other variables to manage in additive manufacturing. But no matter the scale of the process, small inputs affect the final output.

The automation gap is not just about who can afford the equipment.

Right now, manufacturers are already struggling to find and hire strong automation engineers, controls technicians, robot programmers, maintenance techs, and people who understand how to keep automation systems running once they are installed.

That creates a difficult situation.

Companies are turning to automation because labor is harder to find and harder to retain.

But automation does not make the labor problem disappear.

It can reduce the number of people needed to run a task, but it raises the importance of the people needed to support the system behind it.

That is where automation starts separating companies.

Not by who buys the equipment first.

But by who has the capability to keep it running, improve it, and actually maintain the system long term.

Most automation projects do not need to start with fully custom end of arm tooling.

That is where a lot of manufacturers lose time early.

There are definitely applications where custom tooling is the right answer. But starting from scratch should be a decision, not the default.

That is why we built Fortis.

We wanted a simple starting point for common automation applications, and Fortis keeps the tooling side straightforward: fewer failure points, a lightweight structure, built-in air channels, and suction mounts that can be changed quickly.

It is made to handle lifting and other common pick-and-place tasks reliably, without constant adjustments or unnecessary complexity.

Our goal is simple: make end of arm tooling easier to deploy, easier to maintain, and easier to trust on the floor.

Sometimes the best design process is to print it, test it, change it, and print it again.

Recently, we needed to figure out the best way to hold onto a plastic cap for a customer.

Grant Kappes, took on the challenge and started testing different approaches. A press fit, a snap fit, and several geometry changes all had to be tried before the right solution showed up.

That is where additive manufacturing makes a real difference.

Instead of guessing at the design or waiting on a machined prototype, Grant was able to print, test, adjust, and repeat the process in the same day.

Looking at the image, can you spot which iteration ended up being the perfect fit?

What other manufacturing method is capable of this?

These parts were quoted, printed, and ready to go in 2 weeks using additive manufacturing.

The full assembly consists of 16 individual parts that were assembled and finished for a cost efficient solution.

This beats injection molding several times over in price and lead time right here in the US.

Contact us today to see what additive manufacturing can do for your parts!