THE PROBLEM

A customer approached us with an ambitious request: test their deep-sea diving suit for multiple factors—including its sealing capabilities, the durability of bolted-on components, and the overall ergonomics for the diver. Oh, and one more thing… they wanted to use the suit for a high-profile media stunt! The real kicker? We had just 10 days to make it happen. One of the suit’s core structural components had to be made from a high-strength plastic, but this posed a major challenge. The dimensions were 30" x 17" x 20", which meant we could 3D print it in a single piece—but at an astronomical cost. Not to mention, the FDM process we had access to didn’t produce a naturally sealed surface. Alternative approaches had their own pitfalls: SLA/SLS printing would require multiple pieces joined together, introducing sealing issues and relying heavily on adhesives. CNC machining seemed nearly impossible—not only because of the sheer size of the part but also because finding a large enough material block was a long shot. We needed a smarter, faster, and more reliable solution. Fortunately, we had one more trick up our sleeve.

THE PROBLEM

Our CNC lead took charge, breaking down the CAD model into precision puzzle pieces that could be machined separately and assembled seamlessly. By splitting production across multiple mills, we drastically increased speed while maintaining quality. We selected ABS as our material of choice, allowing us to bond the parts with ABS cement—which chemically fuses the pieces together, creating a weld-like connection rather than a simple adhesive bond.

THE PROBLEM

A total of 25 CNC-machined pieces were meticulously fabricated and bonded together. The result? A fully sealed unit with no detectable seams—so smooth that you couldn’t even feel the joints with a fingernail. The customer successfully tested the suit underwater, validating the integrity of key components. And, of course, they nailed an epic promo video featuring a diver inside the suit, proving that even the toughest engineering challenges can be conquered under pressure.