Driving automotive innovation with additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a well-established component in automotive prototyping and production, predominantly for the creation of jigs, tools, and other aids found on factory floors. Adoption continues to grow, driven by greater efficiency, new build and support materials, and a move to open printing platforms.

But 3D printing, and specifically fused filament fabrication (FFF), has taken AM off the factory floor and onto the road, driven by applications like high-temperature thermoplastics in racing, end-use parts for vintage cars, and custom components for new car buyers. Today, FFF is helping automakers create entirely new products and revenue streams.

Previously, a molding tool for a complex plastic part can take weeks, or several months for a large part, to design, create, and test. An FFF print of the same part can cut that down to two weeks, and–even better–allows engineers to iterate quickly and optimize the part.

Speed may be critical, both on the line and on the track, but it’s not the only advantage AM offers automotive manufacturers. ROI is a major factor for anything less than very high part volumes. Small molds start at around $10,000 and escalate quickly from there. Very large molds can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Additionally, a large tool printed in thermoplastic will weigh much less than aluminum, making it safer, more ergonomic, and thus easier to use, leading to further productivity gains on the line.

The adoption of Total Quality Management (TQM), popularized by Toyota in the 1960s, has resulted in the widespread use of aides like poka-yoke. “Poka-yoke" translates as error-proofing or mistake-proofing. For example, AM is used to create a poka-yoke tray that holds all of the pieces needed for a specific manufacturing step to help eliminate assembly mistakes.

Inspection fixtures are another example of AM’s value in auto manufacturing. When a Mercedes reaches the end of the production line, it’s time to place the badge, or emblem, on the car. A crooked or slightly-off emblem would never pass a QC check on a Mercedes. A simple fixture ensures accurate placement by aligning the emblem with other parts. Traditionally, such a tool would have been made out of steel, but once again, 3D printing is faster, cheaper, and lighter.

The domination of closed, proprietary, AM systems is giving way to open systems, which today can offer both flexibility and the ease-of-use and consistency of results needed by manufacturers.

Additive manufacturing is fueling a new and growing market: replacement parts. As with many automotive firsts, it was at the high end of the market that innovation first appeared. Already a fixture in the racing and supercar segments, it didn’t take too long for manufacturers to see the potential AM holds for venerated classics. Porsche, for example, is now using AM to print parts (in metal and plastics) on demand.

The clutch-release lever for the Porsche 959 is no longer available. Manufacturing new tooling aids with traditional methods would be cost-prohibitive for a model like the 959 because fewer than 300 were ever produced. But keeping these pioneering mechanical marvels performing is important to the brand. Porsche is expanding its 3D printing parts program to produce other rare, low-volume spare parts for its older inventory.

Speed and cost remain the two greatest challenges for the wider adoption of additive manufacturing in the automotive sector. In a recent survey of AM leaders, predictions of falling costs and faster production speeds were a common theme.

In the survey, Dr. Kaj Führer, CEO, enter2net stated, "There will be cost reductions in technology and materials through volume scaling so that AM will conquer further shares of the manufacturing technology mix. I am curious to see when not only individual components in the automotive environment will be optimized for AM, but when AM-optimized industrial implementation of large assemblies like whole engines or car bodies takes place. The latter can already be seen in the aerospace industry with aircraft engines."

Phoenix, Arizona-based Local Motors made a splash in 2014 when it announced, and then produced, the first-ever 3D printed electric car — Strati — at the International Manufacturing Technology Show.

Local Motors blew past the five-to-seven years it typically takes traditional auto manufacturing to get from decision to build, and instead took just 12 months, or five times faster, to produce its first model.

The company isn’t making a consumer product — their production is low-volume, focused on the autonomous people-movers that you’d find on a large campus or airport, but they’ve demonstrated the promise of mass customization, which is an innovation that consumers can drive home today.

Customized cars are nothing new. That long, colorful history now has a new chapter, one featuring regular car buyers, not just enthusiasts. New car buyers already have had the option to customize exteriors, on Daihatsu’s Copen model, and interior elements, in BMW-maker MINI models.