Author: Gilbert Peters

A manifold redesign that started with speed, not weight

In many engineering contexts the push for lighter parts is obvious: airplanes, electric vehicles, racing bicycles . But sometimes the most valuable benefit of weight reduction isn’t the one you expect.

A few years ago, I worked on a hydraulic manifold redesign for a special piece of equipment. The goal wasn’t to make it lighter. It was to make it faster to produce.

The traditional manifold had a six-week lead time. For complex, high-value systems, having spare units in stock wasn’t realistic, so every week of downtime came with a real cost. The challenge was clear: bring that lead time down to something closer to two weeks.

How additive manufacturing in titanium changed everything

The solution came through additive manufacturing. By producing the manifold in titanium, the manufacturing process became radically faster and more efficient.

Titanium also removed an entire production step. The traditional steel manifold needed to be painted after pressure testing. That meant cleaning all hydraulic fluid residues, preparing the surface, masking, painting, and drying — a messy and time-consuming sequence.

The titanium version could simply be used as-is. No paint required. No cleaning. No drying.

What started as a speed optimisation quickly became something much more.

From 13.6 kilograms to 900 grams: the unexpected result

The new design ended up weighing just 900 grams — a reduction of over 90 percent compared to the original 13.6 kilogram block.

That wasn’t an objective in the project, but it changed everything about how the part was handled and installed.

The old manifold required hoisting equipment and certified operators for safe installation. The new one could be installed by hand, in seconds, by a single technician.

The ergonomic advantage of lightweight components

In the Netherlands, there is no single legal limit for manual lifting, but ergonomic guidelines recommend keeping manual loads under 23 kilograms in ideal conditions. Anything above that should involve mechanical aids or specific safety measures.

Although the original manifold assembly totalled less then 23 kilograms, dropping it under one kilogram, the manifold is easier to install. No longer cranes, hooks, or lifting plans are needed. It became simple and safe.

The design freedom of additive manufacturing enabled the pressure test points to be relocated. They still measured the same hydraulic lines, but in a new, easily accessible location.

This simple redesign made maintenance faster, safer, and cheaper. Technicians could connect test equipment without disassembling other components or removing panels.

What started as a lead-time challenge ended up improving the entire service experience.

The real lesson

The project began as a race against lead time, but it ended with a broader insight:
lightweight engineering transforms everything around the product, not just the product itself.

Reducing weight simplifies logistics, lowers safety requirements, speeds up installation, and reduces downtime. It also opens the door to smaller, more efficient subsystems — lighter mounts, smaller actuators, faster automation.

Lightweight thinking creates efficiency that compounds.

This manifold story revealed something often overlooked: the greatest value of lightweight engineering may not lie in the structure itself, but in how that structure interacts with the world around it.

Weight reduction is not only about saving material or energy — it’s about unlocking freedom, speed, and simplicity across the entire engineering chain.

Five Key Takeaways from the Manifold Optimisation

1. Additive manufacturing can cut lead time dramatically
   • Switching from conventional machining to titanium additive manufacturing reduced production time from six weeks to roughly two.
     No tooling, no painting, no cleaning delays. Just print, post-process, test, and install.
2. Design freedom improves functionality
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