How Erpro 3D printed 22 million mascara brushes for CHANEL

Everyone knows CHANEL but not everyone may be familiar with Erpro, a French leader in additive manufacturing. The company has multiple production sites and has achieved numerous “firsts” in the additive manufacturing scene. But nothing can compare to the millions of mascara brushes that Erpro 3D Factory (E3DF) has been 3D printing since 2017.

This is a massively successful application of Consumer Products Additive Manufacturing, likely the most successful application in all of additive manufacturing, but it is not the only one. VoxelMatters has conducted an extensive study on this industrial segment and recently published a major vertical market study on additive manufacturing of Lifestyle (footwear, eyewear, sports equipment, etc.), Design (furniture and lighting) and Luxury Products (jewelry and watches), forecasting a business that already generates $2.6 billion today and is expected to top $28 billion yearly by 2033. More information on how to access this study is available here.

Since 1997, Erpro has offered additive manufacturing with different 3D printing technologies such as FDM, stereolithography, SLS and metal 3D printing. Over the years, the company has added new technologies such CFF composite by Markforged, Carbon DLS technology (it became Carbon’s first French partner in 2018), HP Multi Jet Fusion, metal binder jetting, direct precious metal 3D printing from Sisma, pellet 3D printing from Pollen and Epeire and 3D silicone printing from Lynxter.

This extensive AM know-how resulted in several high-profile production cases, with collaborations with top brands in automotive, aerospace and packaging but the biggest of all production cases, possibly the largest ever production case in the world, began with the French luxury fashion house CHANEL in 2017 and has led to the additive production of over 22 million units (and counting) of mascara brushes, with 250,000 brushes printed per week.

“It all started at a trade show more than 10 years ago, at that time the technology, materials, post processes were not ready to respond to large-scale additive manufacturing,” says Loane Duhamel, Assistant Commercial, “In 2016 the planets aligned, and we found the right combinations. Since then more than 22 million applicators have been printed at Erpro 3D Factory”

Eleven years ago, CHANEL filed its initial patent and then worked with Erpro 3D Factory (E3DF) to launch the first mascara featuring a 3D printed brush produced on an industrial scale. The brush’s textured surface ensures optimal adhesion and precise application, allowing the mascara to coat each lash evenly from root to tip with no product waste.

In addition, pins placed with micrometric accuracy and a tapered end deliver instant, dramatic volume, ensuring even distribution of mascara across the lashes. Micro-cavities in the brush store the perfect amount of mascara, allowing you to build customized volume with each stroke, without needing to re-dip the brush into the tube.

Today Erpro 3D Factory is in mass production with 2 applicators: Volume Revolution and Stretch. In this case, the mascara brush “Le Volume Révolution de Chanel” was created in-house from polyamide using laser sintering technology and bio-sourced PA11. The material is provided by Arkema to all AM companies but the huge potential of the mascara brushes convinced Arkema to invest more directly and acquire a 10% stake in E3DF “to gain new expertise and accelerate the development of new applications for its high-performance polymers.”

In many ways, this case is similar to OECHSLER’s partnership with adidas in Germany on the additive production of midsoles for the Futurcraft4D sneakers. When the two companies set out to additively produce millions of final parts everything has to be written. “It was an all-new production approach, with a technology that had never been used for batches of this size,” says Duhamel. “There was no precedent and everything was challenging. We have other major products in orthopedic insoles, medical parts, glasses and industrial partners in general but this is by far the largest in terms of units manufactured yearly.”

Erpro has extensive 3D printing capabilities in multiple sites across France. The head office is in St leu la Foret (95) near Paris, which is where the company offers 3D printing solutions for polymers and metals along with machining, and plastic injection molding capabilities. Another site in the North is specialized in FDM, silicone molding, and RIM. A third site, near Roissy, also specializes in plastic injection molding.

E3DF provides a comprehensive service and full support to customers throughout the development of their projects, from concept to final product. “We have a huge machine park for both polymers and metals, which allows us to be very responsive concerning the supply of parts to the customer,”  Duhamel says. “In addition, we can offer finishes, chemical attack, tribofinishing, dyeing, painting … All allowing us to provide decorated parts to our customers.” And it looks like CHANEL will continue to be one of them for a long time.