Advancing Protective Case
Manufacturing with Industrial 3D
Printing & Digitally Engineered
Inserts
The protective case industry has traditionally relied on manual foam fabrication and conventional manufacturing methods to produce custom inserts for sensitive equipment. While effective in many applications, these methods often limit design flexibility, consistency, and long-term durability, especially when projects demand tight tolerances, complex geometries, or thin structural features.
Cases Unlimited partnered with Mosaic Manufacturing to explore a new approach to engineered case inserts using industrial additive manufacturing and advanced filament technology.
By combining Mosaic’s automated manufacturing platform with Stitch – Mosaic’s proprietary material engineered as a direct replacement for PE, XLPE, and EVA foams = Cases Unlimited was able to develop highly customized inserts that deliver precision fitment, improved durability, and greater manufacturing consistency for demanding customer applications.
The collaboration demonstrates how additive manufacturing is helping to modernize protective case production by enabling advanced geometries and repeatable manufacturing workflows that are difficult or impossible to achieve through traditional foam fabrication alone.
The Challenge
Cases Unlimited works with customers across industries that require highly customized protective packaging solutions for sensitive instruments, portable technology, and specialized equipment.
Many of these projects involve:
- Extremely precise fitment requirements
- Complex internal case geometries
- Thin structural walls and delicate support features
- Tight manufacturing tolerances
- High durability expectations
- Consistent visual presentation and finish quality
- Faster turnaround and production scalability
Historically, these inserts were manufactured using traditional foam fabrication methods. While functional, traditional foam introduced several limitations.
Thin walls and smaller support features often lacked structural integrity and required frequent replacement after use. Producing these inserts also demanded significant craftsmanship and manual labour, making consistency difficult to maintain from insert to insert.
As customer expectations evolved, Cases Unlimited also faced increasing demands for:
- Higher-end presentation quality
- Greater repeatability
- Improved durability
- More advanced customization
- Reduced production bottlenecks
At the same time, achieving these standards through traditional foam manufacturing methods required additional labour-intensive finishing processes, specialized staff training, and slower production workflows.
Cases Unlimited recognized an opportunity to adopt a more digitally driven manufacturing process capable of delivering higher quality, better repeatability, and entirely new design possibilities.
Why Mosaic
Cases Unlimited partnered with Mosaic to implement a purpose-built additive manufacturing workflow designed specifically for engineered protective case inserts.
Together, the companies combined:
- Automated additive manufacturing technology
- Stitch 3D printing material is built for custom-fabricated foam applications
- Digitally optimized production workflows
- Precision fitment capabilities
- Rapid prototyping and iteration capabilities
- Production-ready processes for finished, end-use parts
Using Mosaic’s platform, Cases Unlimited could manufacture inserts with highly detailed geometries that closely matched the internal contours of complex protective cases, including wheel wells, handle cutouts, mounting points, and intricate support structures.
The combination of tuned foam material properties and structural durability unlocked entirely new possibilities for insert design.
“The protective case industry has been rooted in traditional production methods for a long time; innovation wasn’t something we saw often, nor was it something our customers typically asked for. That changed the moment we integrated Mosaic’s technology into our workflow.
What makes this a game-changer is the dual nature of the material. It allows us to mimic various foam densities while providing unparalleled structural support, even on the most delicate, thin features that traditional foam just can’t handle.”
Stan Yong
President and CEO at Cases Unlimited Corp.
The Solution
Using Mosaic’s additive manufacturing platform, Cases Unlimited developed digitally manufactured inserts for multiple high-performance protective case applications.
MMS Project
One project involved a complex multi-equipment case requiring several instruments and components to fit within a highly customized internal layout.
The application demanded:
- Unique fitment zones for multiple instruments
- Extremely thin but durable support walls
- Consistent production quality
- Long-term durability
- Tight tolerance control
Traditional foam inserts struggled to provide adequate structural support for the thinner features, often resulting in damaged or degraded inserts after repeated use.
With additive manufacturing, Cases Unlimited was able to produce durable printed inserts capable of maintaining structural integrity while delivering significantly greater consistency and finish quality.
The customer response shifted from viewing the product as a temporary packaging solution to seeing it as a long-term storage system.
Moving forward, Cases Unlimited plans to implement a hybrid manufacturing approach combining printed structural components with foam-filled bulk sections to further optimize production speed and cost efficiency.
BAL Project
Another application involved a prototype portable computer unit with a highly complex mounting frame geometry.
The project required:
- Strategic support placement
- Tight fitment tolerances
- Complex geometry accommodation
- Rapid design iteration
- Premium presentation quality
Because of the intricate shape of the mounting frame, the team produced an initial test print to validate fitment before refining the STL files and optimizing the final design.
The customer, a technology company, was highly focused on both functionality and presentation quality. The final printed insert delivered both, helping showcase the product while protecting sensitive equipment.
The success of the project has already led to discussions around expanding the same workflow into additional applications requiring advanced fitment and support structures.
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Operational Impact
By implementing Mosaic’s solutions, Cases Unlimited achieved major improvements across production, quality, and operational efficiency.
The technology enabled:
- Greater manufacturing consistency
- Faster iteration and prototyping
- Improved durability and structural support
- Reduced manual fabrication requirements
- Enhanced visual presentation
- Better scalability for complex projects
- Reduced dependency on highly specialized foam craftsmanship
Operationally, the automation benefits were equally impactful.
“Once the system is dialled in, it runs reliably in the background with minimal monitoring, freeing up our staff for other high-value tasks.”
Perhaps most importantly, additive manufacturing fundamentally changed what customers believed was possible within protective case design.
“When customers see this for the first time, you can actually watch their minds start racing, realizing they no longer have to ‘just live with’ the limitations of the past. They are finally seeing real solutions to problems they thought were permanent.”
Stan Yong
President and CEO at Cases Unlimited Corp.
Looking Ahead
Cases Unlimited sees a significant opportunity in expanding additive manufacturing across additional protective packaging and engineered insert applications.
The next phase includes:
- Hybrid foam and printed insert systems
- Further production optimization
- Expanded use across technology and industrial sectors
- More advanced fitment and support applications
- Greater customization capabilities for customers
As industries continue demanding higher-performance protective packaging solutions, digitally manufactured inserts are positioned to redefine how custom case interiors are designed, produced, and scaled.
This collaboration demonstrates how Cases Unlimited and Mosaic Manufacturing are helping push the protective case industry toward a more advanced, digitally driven future.
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