Case Study: Rent vs Buy, Scaling ULTEM™ 9085 Production
The Challenge
A customer faced a time-sensitive production requirement: manufacturing hundreds of parts using ULTEM 9085 within a nine month window.
At the time, they were operating two Stratasys Fortus 400mc systems. However, to meet volume and delivery deadlines, they estimated needing six machines running concurrently.
Purchasing four additional systems presented a major issue:
- Significant upfront capital expenditure
- Underutilized assets after the nine-month production run
- Unnecessary strain on cash flow
The Solution
Pivot delivered a flexible, low-risk alternative.
- Rented four Fortus 400mc production-grade 3D printers on a minimum six contract, rolling over to a month to month contract
- Enabled immediate scaling without capital investment. Delivered and Installed in two weeks.
- Customer needed the capacity of an additional four Fortus machines for the final three months of production. To save logistics costs, electrician costs and installation costs we rented four additional machines but kept them installed at Pivot and ran the machines for them. Also saving on material shipping costs. production for them as though the machines
This approach gave the customer the ability to scale operations quickly while maintaining financial flexibility.
The Result
- ✅ Met all production deadlines on time
- ✅ Avoided large upfront capital costs
- ✅ Preserved cash flow for core business operations
- ✅ Eliminated long-term equipment underutilization
At the end of the contract, Pivot removed the rented equipment, and the customer seamlessly returned to standard production levels using their existing machines.
Key Takeaway
For companies facing temporary spikes in additive manufacturing demand, equipment rental offers a powerful alternative to purchasing—delivering scalability, speed, and financial efficiency without long-term commitment.
