The use of 3D printing for automotive prototyping is among the very first commercial uses of AM. As the aerospace and medical segments began evolving the technology toward production, the automotive additive manufacturing has remained largely confined to that first use until now.
This is due primarily to the lower part cost requirements of the larger automotive industry. As AM technologies are now increasingly able to provide larger parts, larger part batches and faster production capabilities (through both machine evolutions and increased process automation), along with more readily available end-use materials, the current period and the next two years will be of fundamental importance for AM adoption by the automotive segment.
On 3D Printing Media Network we continuously track and analyze all these latest trends for AM adoption within the global automotive industry.
Additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies, already imbedded into the core of the auto industry, have now entered into the new and exciting areas of automobile supply and manufacturing chains. As the first major consumer product industry to do so, the implications and the potential for this paradigm shift are extremely significant for both AM and the global manufacturing industry as a whole. The implications extend to all industries linked to manufacturing, such as material production, and product distribution.
The prospects, given the sheer scale of the global auto market, are incredibly important for the development of 3D printing technology and are therefore quite exciting.
As Formula One becomes more open about the use of AM in its development and production processes, Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team has revealed that five new large-format ProX 800 SLA 3D printers from 3D Systems have joined its extensive arsenal of 3D Systems SLS and SLA solutions. In addition, …
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Within the automotive industry, there are countless ways that 3D printing has been adopted, from 3D printed metal replacement parts, to full-colour prototypes, to custom detailing. Recently, Corona, California-based Design Infini highlighted another automotive application for additive manufacturing: wheel design. Founded by Suny Chung in 1995, Design Infini has spent …
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German auto manufacturer Audi has announced that its Pre-Series Center and Plastics 3D Printing Center in Ingolstadt, Germany have adopted Stratasys’ J750 full-colour, multi-material 3D printer for producing faithful prototypes and accelerating the design verification process. Audi has found a range of uses for additive manufacturing in its development and …
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Arguably one of the most cutting-edge niches of the additive manufacturing sector is the development of dynamic and changing printed structures. Sometimes referred to as 4D printing, we’ve seen researchers 3D print self-folding structures and other smart, shapeshifting materials. A recent development coming out of MIT’s Self-Assembly Laboratory has demonstrated …
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From Star Wars to the Royal Wedding, it seems like cars are the new hottest trend in promotional merchandising. MINI, the British automotive company now owned by BMW, recently unveiled a custom-designed MINI Hatch inspired by the much-hyped wedding of Suits actress Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Why do we …
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Some of today’s brightest engineers got their start designing race cars for Formula Student competitions, which is why our attention is always piqued when new case studies on the topic emerge. The most recent story is from Barcelona-based ETSEIB Motorsport, one of the most experienced Formula Student teams, which turned …
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In a galaxy not so far away—well, Hollywood—Solo: A Star Wars Story made its screen debut last week. Not only did the world premiere event bring together high profile stars from the sci-fi franchise, but one of Star Wars’ most iconic spaceships also made an appearance, courtesy of automotive company …
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A team of students from the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany was racing to victory thanks in part to additive manufacturing company EnvisionTEC. Acting as a sponsor, EnvisionTEC provided support and 3D printing expertise to the German students in the development of an electric race car. The partially …
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In the automotive manufacturing industry, 3D printing technologies are drastically impacting prototyping processes and turnaround times. However, benefiting from additive technologies isn’t quite as simple as installing printers into a workflow. As Hyundai Motor Company recently demonstrated, in order to fully exploit the advantages of 3D printing—including increased automation and …
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Reuters, one the leading news agencies in the world, is reporting that General Motors is working with Autodesk to manufacture new, lightweight 3D printed parts that could help the automaker meet its goals to add alternative-fuel vehicles to its product lineup. Surprisingly the issue of vehicle light-weighting practices through AM and their …
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3D Printing Media Network