In just over 30 years, the emerging technology of 3D printing has been applied to many industries. Among them, the automotive industry is one of the earliest industries for 3D printing applications. In 2020, the automotive industry will account for 16.4% and become the first industry for 3D printing applications. So what are the applications of 3D printing in the automotive industry?
1. Making samples
From the design to the final mass production of the car, the research and development during the period require the production of a large number of prototypes. Before 3D printing, the samples were processed by hand, CNC, and other methods. Today, a large number of prototypes in the research and development stage are made by 3D printing, and with the advancement of 3D printing technology, the advantages of the short production cycle, high precision, and low cost will be further highlighted.
2. Making spare parts
In the process of using the car, it is inevitable that there will be some failures, which need to be repaired. If a certain part is damaged, in a country with a better economy, it is generally a direct replacement of the part. Therefore, 4S shops and auto repair shops will prepare some spare parts. However, because there are too many auto parts, it is impossible to have every part in reserve. And once there are too many spare parts, inventory costs will remain high. Therefore, many car owners will encounter the situation that the store orders from the manufacturer, resulting in a prolonged maintenance cycle. Therefore, 3D printing parts has become a new way of spare parts, and stores can print the parts they need directly in the store. On the one hand, the inventory pressure is reduced, and on the other hand, the time for ordering parts is saved, and the maintenance efficiency is improved. In the future, parts warehouses are likely to be dominated by digital models.
3. Printing the whole vehicle
Although there is still a certain distance from mass production, there have been many 3D printed cars and electric vehicles over the years. The current 3D printing technology can already be used to print the entire vehicle chassis, frame, door, etc., and the 3D printed chassis and other components can be integrated with multiple components and printed out in one piece, which not only reduces the assembly time but also improves the firmness. However, currently limited by the printing speed, it does not have the capacity for mass production. When the printing speed increases to a certain stage, it is not impossible to 3D print a mass production car.
4. Mass production of parts
The 3D printed parts are directly applied to the production car. At present, most of the 3D printed parts are still used as test pieces. It is not that the quality of 3D printed parts is not good. Like the printing speed mentioned above, the current 3D printing speed cannot meet the needs of mass production. Therefore, at present, 3D printed parts are only used in some models with relatively small output, such as various super sports cars, F1 racing cars, etc., and as modified parts. Due to the small molding constraints of 3D printing, some topology-optimized parts can be produced, which often have complex geometries, are lighter, and perform better than the original parts. At present, the leading manufacturers in the automotive industry are increasing their investment in the research and development of 3D printing technology. In order to use 3D printing technology to mass-produce parts and bring better performance to the car.
5. Distributed production
The automotive industry is a highly concentrated industry, with a large number of components shipped to factories where they are assembled into complete vehicles on production lines. It is then shipped to all parts of the world for sale. As a result, a large amount of transport capacity needs to be used. 3D printing can realize distributed production, 3D print the chassis and various parts locally, and then assemble it. Of course, this needs to be based on the third and fourth points mentioned above.