3D Printing of Automotive Parts

3D printing technology has set off a “speed revolution” in the automotive parts industry! With the global manufacturing industry moving towards industrial 4.0, more and more enterprises in automobile manufacturing industry apply 3D printing technology to automobile parts manufacturing. As a new fast manufacturing technology, 3D printing technology brings great potential for automobile manufacturing industry by virtue of its advantages of simplifying process and shortening manufacturing cycle.

3D printing technology has been applied in automobile power assembly, chassis, interior and exterior. Automobile manufacturing has always been the key area of 3D printing technology promotion. Using 3D printing technology, conceptual models can be produced in hours or days, which greatly reduces the cost and time of tool production. Therefore, 3D printing makes the development of new automotive products more convenient and fast, such as from verification to stereotyping; from the direct manufacturing of complex products, the development of metal molds for complex parts, to the design of conceptual automobiles, there are many integration points, which not only meets the needs of independent development and innovation, but also greatly reduces the development and manufacture of automobiles. Ben.

With the advantages of high flexibility, suitable for complex shapes and structures, suitable for composite materials and no additional tooling, 3D printing technology overcomes the limitations of traditional technology, and can better show the physical properties of automotive parts, and cooperate with product testing and practical use.

At present, as the price of 3D printers drops and mature industrial chains (designers, manufacturers, suppliers, integrators and users) form, 3D printing technology will change the game rules of the automobile market.

Innovative automobile design

With the maturity and popularization of 3D printing technology, automobile consumers can print out product models of new design anytime and anywhere, which provides new ideas and source of design materials for automobile manufacturers’design departments, and these product innovations in the form of Crowd Sourcing will be rich and dynamic.

Component customization

Customers can choose their preferred combination of automobile parts in professional market, mobile phone and network, such as bumper, rearview mirror, headlamp, dashboard, steering wheel and other interior and exterior accessories. After the automobile dealer confirms the customer’s design requirements, the 3D printing service provider can manufacture these combination of automobile parts. Subsequently, customers can get their own customized cars.

Spare parts and services

4S stores or owners can use 3D printers to print automotive parts and repair tools. Specifically, the prototype is scanned by a 3D scanner, then the reverse design software is used to model, and then the tool is duplicated by a 3D printer.