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3D printing in automotive industry

Submitted by makenica on Mon, 05/10/2021 - 10:16

Even the 3D printing technology has given rise to spectacular achievements in the automotive industry, starting from the possibility of rapid prototyping, via a more and more widespread production of closing car parts, and ending with 3D manufacturing of almost the entire cars.

Nobody should be surprised with a growing interest in 3D printing bangalore on the part of large concerns, for example Mitsubishi Chemical or even BASF, which see a serious and profitable business in using FDM printing technology in the automotive industry.

Using 3D printers by car manufacturers

The automotive sector has enjoyed 3D printing and continues to be utilizing its opportunities on a daily basis more and more frequently. Designers and engineers open to invention execute bold thoughts with the use of the technology, thus, extending the pallet of engineering benefits and optimising the manufacturing processes.

1. 3D published end-use parts
The times when the most important use of 3D printing technology in the automotive industry was fast prototyping have long gone today. The report of the SmartTech Publishing study company on the automotive sector proves that 3D printing online is more and more often used in manufacturing the final car parts. The analysts expect that by 2029 the 3D printing market in that narrow industry will generate as much as USD 9 billion earnings. The leaders in utilizing the additive technology to manufacture final automobile parts is -- as reports SmartTech -- Volkswagen, and the second position is occupied by BMW and Ford.

2. High-performance materials in producing cars
One of the currently most popular and most frequently used 3D printing technology in the automotive sector is FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication). Its advantage is the possibility to use many different materials, the properties of that are similar to plastics. With the use of a 3D printer that the needed parts and information may be created, which not just enables companies to maintain production continuity, which is extremely important nowadays, but additionally become independent of outside providers and streamline the manufacturing processes.

Examples of utilizing 3D printers in automotive

1. Fire-trucks manufacturer use industrial 3D printer
The company of Bocar, that addresses the manufacturing of fire service vehicles, utilizes the printer to create sub-assembly prototypes from plastics. In cooperation with 3DGence, it's prepared a model of an extruded collector in 1:1 scale. As a result of this professional 3DGence INDUSTRY F340 printer the process of this component creation was shortened for several months. The ready cast eliminates the requirement of manual welding of wrists, pipes and flanges. Thanks to this hydraulic systems are more accurate and their failure rate is reduced.

2. Building racing automobile with the usage 3D printing technology
Polish students also contribute to the development of the automotive industry, including electromobility. Their latest electric racing car AGH Racing -- RTE 2.0"LEM" presented to the world on 11 July 2019 includes 3D printed elements.

The newest engineering solutions that can be found on the market, including 3D printing, were implemented in constructing the racing automobile. Among other things, the battery packs casing has been published from an inflammable substance on a 3DGence INDUSTRY F340 device. Additionally, the use of that 3D printer allowed the creation of other parts and models, including aerodynamic elements dies, thanks to which we were able to separately prepare the components needed for the racing automobile.