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The automotive industry is being disrupted on multiple fronts. Electric vehicle (EV) sales are skyrocketing, and car connectivity is enabling a host of new features, from entertainment to drivers assistance and autonomous driving. Additionally, the recent global pandemic shifted sales online, generated supply chain shortages, and created an environment where low inventories led to higher new and used car prices. Despite the obstacles, 2021 data suggests the industry is on the road to recovery, led by growth in EVs, SUVs, the luxury car segment, and in automotive parts.
Automotive 3D printing has the potential to help the industry overcome many of its challenges. Compared to gas powered vehicles, EVs are early in their level of development and adoption. Digital manufacturing enables vehicle manufacturers to quickly design and refine parts for quickly evolving, lower volume EV platforms. With new connectivity technology and the challenges with semiconductor availability, 3D printing can also help carmakers more quickly adapt to unforeseen changes. On the assembly line, additive manufacturing can assist with automation efforts by improving tooling, jigs, and fixtures. 3D printing can continue to have an impact after production with replacement and customized parts.
3D printing is impacting almost every segment of the transportation industry. Beyond automobiles, it’s also being implemented to make parts for construction, agricultural and recreational vehicles. It’s even being used by hobbyists to produce parts needed to make a 3D printed rc car.
3D printing for cars is an opportunity throughout the product lifecycle
Regardless of the vehicle type, 3D printing is useful throughout the product lifecycle:
- Prototyping - 3D printing has become synonymous with rapid prototyping because it allows designers to develop aesthetic and functional parts that can be tested and validated before committing to production
- Tooling jigs and fixtures - engineering grade materials offer the strength and impact resistance needed for robotic and assembly line applications
- Final parts - the quality, speed, and economics of additive manufacturing have progressed to the point where it is feasible for automotive 3D printing
- Spare parts - whether it's used to digitize inventory, manufacture legacy parts, or in the aftermarket, 3D printing can help the automotive parts category continue its growth trajectory
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Data courtesy1
Advantages of 3D printing in the automotive industry
Automotive 3D printing provides vehicle manufacturers with several important benefits.
3D printed car parts enable mass customization and offer better performance
One of 3D printing’s biggest advantages is that parts are built additively, layer-by-layer. This allows engineers to utilize Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) to make parts that couldn’t be built any other way.
Oechsler, a global supplier to the automotive industry, recently collaborated with TECHART, an automotive company with 35 years of history individualizing high performance cars. Together, their engineering teams developed a lightweight, performance-oriented car seat - 3D printed with HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) - that offers enhanced ventilation and breathability, while also providing the ideal damping properties needed for use on racetracks.
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Data courtesy2
Oechsler’s engineers began by creating unique pressure maps that measure body geometries and utilized DfAM to convert them into lattice structures. After extensive simulation and real world testing, they were able to develop customized seating pads that reduce peak pressure points and dissipate heat seven times better than automotive foam. By combining different lattice layers with various damping properties, they were also able to reduce the overall pad volume and shave the weight of the seat pad by 20%.
Read the full 3D printed car case study to learn more about Oechsler and TECHART’s unique approach enables car printing.
Automotive 3D printing for mass customization
In addition to performance, 3D printing for cars also facilitates mass customization. Stellantis brand Peugeot, for example, has created a range of 3D printed accessories produced with HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) for storage of sunglasses, cups, phones and other items. Based on extensive research of how consumers use storage in their vehicles, they found that traditional materials weren’t meeting market needs. When presented with new TPU material offered by HP and BASF, they realized they could 3D print customized parts with high surface quality and very fine detail. They found that the material was ideal for impact absorbing parts that require high elasticity and flexible mesh-like structures. Based on the success of their initial efforts, Stellantis has patented the use of TPU in car interiors and has long-term plans for 3D printing, including technical parts on future Peugeot vehicles.
Read the full 3D printed car parts case study to learn more about how Stellantis is utilizing unique materials like TPU to advance 3D printing in the automotive industry and deliver more value to their customers.
Go to market fast with automotive 3D printing
In addition to its unique design attributes, additive manufacturing also reduces the setup time and cost associated with traditional methods. It utilizes a digital workflow and eliminates the need for tooling, enabling the availability of finished parts in days, instead of weeks or months.
General Motors has produced a variety of 3D printed car parts using HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology. Recently, for example, GM used the solution to manufacture closeout seals for the spoilers of some of their most popular SUVs. Working with HP and GKN Forecast 3D, they were able to streamline their additive manufacturing process, which enabled them to produce and finish 60,000 parts over the span of five weeks. Using conventional processes, the parts would have taken significantly longer and delayed production. In contrast, automotive 3D printing allowed GM to accelerate the scheduling of 30,000 vehicles.
The engineers at GM quickly designed the new part and conducted wind tunnel testing to ensure the part met aerodynamic specifications. Then they enlisted the support of GKN Forecast 3D to accelerate the finishing process. Within a few days GKN Forecast 3D identified, tested, and validated a new drying protocol that reduced the time it would have taken to surface finish the parts by 60%. With the time saved, the teams were able to accelerate their production schedule, saving GM time and cost, while eliminating the risk of production delays.
Read the full 3D printed car parts case study to learn more about GM’s experience and future plans for 3D printing in the automotive industry.
Volkswagen accelerates product development with 3D printed car parts
Volkswagen is also utilizing the technology and has its sights set on becoming a leader in automotive 3D printing. They have adopted metal 3D printing using HP Metal Jet technology to produce high performance, functional parts. One of the reasons they are so interested in car printing is that it allows them to make parts without expensive tooling. Each of their cars contain 6,000 to 8,000 parts and additive manufacturing gives them an opportunity to produce a high volume of parts quickly. It also removes constraints in product development, enabling new features they use when developing a 3D printed car model.
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Watch the video to learn more about how Volkswagen is using HP Metal Jet to advance 3D printing for cars.
3D printing for cars creates cost savings on the assembly line
While a completely 3D printed car might be in your driveway someday, automotive manufacturers are employing the technology now to reduce the cost of a growing collection of parts.
Ford, for example, recently announced that their catalog of 3D printed car parts has surpassed 5,000 different items, which are used at every phase of the manufacturing process at their Almussafes plant in Valencia, Spain. The parts are up to 90% less expensive to produce and are designed to be lighter and more ergonomic. In the past, Ford’s Almussafes plant primarily for prototypes, but now its use is far more widespread. In 2021 alone, they 3D printed over 20,000 pieces, including spare parts that drastically reduce cost and repair times.
Read the full 3D printed car parts case study to see how Ford is utilizing automotive 3D printing to be more competitive and create parts more economically.
Transforming 3D waste into automotive parts — an industry first
Since early 2021, HP and Ford, together with international oral care leader, SmileDirectClub and resin producer, Lavergne - have been pioneering the recycling of 3D printer waste into low-volume vehicle parts. This remarkable new approach has the potential to revolutionize customization of low-volume vehicle parts and accelerate sustainability.
The process involves Lavergne, a longtime recycling partner of HP, transforming SmileDirectClub’s dental aligner molds (3D printed with HP Multi Jet Fusion) into high-quality recycled plastic pellets that can then be used for injection molding of fuel-line clips for Ford. The parts have better chemical and moisture resistance than conventional versions, are 7% lighter and cost 10% less.
HP and Ford have already identified at least ten other fuel-line clips on other Ford vehicles suitable for being made with 3D printing waste and are working on injection molding those designs.
Read the full case study to learn more how Ford is collaborating with other industry leaders to transform 3D waste into automotive parts.
Should your business investigate 3D printing for cars?
Contact an automotive 3D printing expert to learn how automotive 3D printing can take your design and manufacturing processes to the next level.
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Footnotes and disclaimers
- Data courtesy of Cupra
- Data courtesy of Oechsler
- Data courtesy of Volkswagen