3D printing has found yet another application in the automotive sector. Ding Tool LLC, a company specializing in paintless dent repair tools, is launching a series of 3D printed dent repair tools at the SEMA show this week in Las Vegas. The patent-pending tools were 3D printed using technology and materials from B9Creations, a South Dakota additive manufacturing solutions company.

Traditionally, paintless dent repair techniques for cars have relied on tools that use a single point of contact with the dent. While effective in some cases, this approach has been somewhat limited and can be lengthy. The new 3D printed tools developed by Ding Tool and B9Creations offer a more comprehensive approach, delivering 9 points of contact with the dent per tool. The 3D printed tools also enable car repair specialists to modify the amount of spring-loaded force delivered to repair dents.

Importantly, the 3D printed paintless dent repair tools will allow for higher throughput, helping to fix automotive dents faster and more efficiently. According to Duane Langenfeld, the founder of Ding Tool, the tools were inspired by the company’s own need for more efficient dent repair solutions. When nothing suitable was available on the market, Langenfeld and his team got to work to invent their own.

The development of the tools was enabled by B9Creations, which supplied its additive manufacturing solutions for the prototyping and production of the car repair part. The end-use tools are 3D printed from B9Creations’ Rugged – Nylon 6 engineering resin, known for its high impact resistance and elongation.

“Even if this tool is given to a new technician, they’ll gain a 20% to 30% increase in speed,” Langenfeld said. “I fixed 10 dents in a roof in 30 seconds with these 3D printed tools, moving seamlessly from prototype to final production units. Using B9Creations Rugged – Nylon 6 engineering material, these functional end-use tools hold up to repeated hammering, taking out dents without leaving scars on the paint or the metal.”

The first 3D printed tool, called the Ding Tool Snap, is a small device with nine pins screwed into the top of a handle, which are mechanically spring loaded inside the handheld product. The spring load level can be adjusted by simply turning the cap located at the end of the device one way or the other. Ding Tool has also introduced another 3D printed dent repair tool, the two-part Pinhead TWINS, which consist of one spring-loaded and one regular nine-pin head.