How 3D Printing Impacts the Automotive Industry
While we may be many years away from driving a 3D-printed car off the lot, the additive manufacturing process is still having an impact on the way we produce cars today. Like many other industries, the automotive business is taking advantage of the value they find in using 3D printing technology. It adds benefits to supply chains and unlocks many different uses of how cars are manufactured. Customers demand better service and technology, especially in a tough economy, and therefore automakers continue to look for advances that help them satisfy these consumers and their bottom line.
The additive manufacturing process has been used for making prototypes in the automotive industry for some time. When thinking about the 3D printing process in producing automobiles, rapidly seeing what a part (or whole) of a car looks like and how it functions is one of its most useful purposes. According to formlabs.com, “Rapid prototyping enables companies to turn ideas into convincing proofs of concept.” When engineers can print a prototype in a short time, this also allows them to quickly advance to a high-fidelity prototype that is an even closer match to what the end result will look like. Time is money, and if an automotive manufacturer can even save an hour in the production process, this has a huge impact on the company’s profit.
The 3D printing process also allows the automotive industry to offer complex, custom, and high-end performance parts to their customers. This reduces expenses all around and really impacts a smaller car shop that specializes in providing custom parts to their clientele. It also allows shops to be more creative in their work, giving them the ability to experiment and perfect their unique designs. Until 3D printing was available, this same service was expensive and involved a lot more time, so it was less appealing to customers. Larger companies like the technology as well. Volkswagen’s recreation of their 1962 Microbus featured several 3D printed parts which included “generatively-designed cast aluminum wheels.”
Additive manufacturing is also handy in producing the tooling and manufacturing aids necessary in the automotive industry. “Engineers use manufacturing aids to make manufacturing and assembly processes simpler and more reliable, reducing cycle times, and improving worker safety,” according to formlabs.com. The average factory or parts supplier utilizes many custom fixtures and this 3D technology allows them to design and produce custom tools on the spot. When these custom tools are outsourced to machine service providers, it can hold up productions for a significant period of time and lead to longer lead times by weeks—making it harder to adapt to changes that happen in real-time on the factory floor.
By nature of the need unpredictability, having spare parts available has always been a challenge in the automotive industry. Because dealerships or mechanics don’t always know what a customer’s vehicle will need that day or week, they don’t purchase a lot of spare parts ahead of time. Customers then get frustrated (and maybe stranded) by not having the use of their vehicle while they wait for a part to arrive. There is the potential to produce spare parts on demand with 3D printing technology which is a total game changer for the entire industry and anyone who drives a car.
Of course, 3D printing requires software to work, and there are a few key players in this market. Autodesk, Materialize, Statasys, SolidWorks, Siemens, and PTC are some of the leading developers of the software these printers use. On the horizon, small startup companies are also in the game of developing this software and offering open-source and paid 3D CAD products.
Again, while we may be a ways off from printing a complete car using this technology, the impact this innovation is having on the automotive industry can’t be ignored. As formlabs put it, “3D printing technology is pushing boundaries and helping achieve entirely new possibilities in design and production,” and it is, “lowering production costs and saving time.” It’s exciting to think about how these two industries will continue to enhance one another in the future.
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