Bright uses BMF micro-SLA to produce 18 connector variants for automotive test systems

Bright, a mobility-sector development partner with offices in Böblingen and Munich, has redesigned a connector for automotive measurement technology so it can be produced via 3D printing and repaired on demand. The company used Boston Micro Fabrication's precision micro-stereolithography technology to manufacture 18 variants of a single connector type for test systems supporting a new vehicle generation's electronic control units. The project was initiated in 2024 by Peter Hautke, General Manager Sales and Operations E/E at Bright, who received a request for test equipment for a new vehicle generation's ECUs. Bright, with over 100 employees, serves automotive, aerospace, rail, and agricultural/construction machinery sectors as a development partner.

This application sits squarely within the automotive vertical's narrow serial-part use pattern, where AM is deployed for low-volume, high-variety test and measurement tooling rather than mass production. The use of micro-SLA from BMF — a process typically associated with prototyping and medical/dental applications — for functional connector production in automotive test systems demonstrates the technology's growing penetration into industrial tooling and jigs/fixtures, an economically important but media-invisible segment. The 18-variant requirement highlights AM's natural advantage in managing part complexity without tooling cost penalties, a classic value proposition that remains under-exploited in automotive beyond prototyping. The project also illustrates the IP lock-in grind pattern: once Bright's redesign is embedded in the customer's test workflow and qualification documents, switching costs rise for future connector generations.

For Bright, the practical next step is to demonstrate that these micro-SLA connectors meet the durability and electrical performance requirements of repeated test cycles, which will determine whether the application expands beyond this initial 18-variant run. For automotive buyers evaluating AM for test equipment, this case provides a concrete reference point for micro-precision polymer parts, but the volumes remain too small to signal broader production adoption. The project is a competent execution of a well-understood AM use case, not a market inflection point.