News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
SLA 3D printer manufacturer Nexa3D will be presenting its newest 3D printer in North America for the first time at CES 2019 this week. The machine, the NXE400, is reportedly capable of print speeds six times faster than competing printers and has a build volume 2.5 times larger than comparable machines on the market.
BMW’s Individual Manufaktur customization facility in Garching, Germany is known for producing some pretty amazing and unique vehicles, but its latest car is, to be blunt, out of this world. The vehicle, dubbed the BMW Individual M850i Night Sky, integrates some truly stellar features, including actual extra-terrestrial fragments and innovative 3D printed components.
Automotive giant Volkswagen – like other German automotive brands – is rapidly becoming a large adopter of 3D printing – and especially metal 3D printing – technologies not just for prototypes and tools but also for direct production of final car parts and components. The Group – which includes other high profile AM adopter brands such as Porsche, Bugatti and Lamborghini – is now consolidating many of its AM activities within the new 3D printing center in the Autostadt, at the Wolfsburg factory site. What exactly is being 3D printed there? While we did not yet have the opportunity to visit the center in person, Volkswagen recently provided a fairly accurate report from inside the facility. This is what goes on at the new Volkswagen 3D printing center and turning Wolfsburg into the beating heart of automotive metal additive manufacturing.
While 2D renderings can help to communicate a product concept well enough, there is something to be said about seeing a concept as a physical, three-dimensional object. This marketing reality has not been lost on manufacturers and designers, who are increasingly turning to additive manufacturing to tactilely visualize design and product concepts.
Over one hundred years ago, the Ford Motor Company reinvented manufacturing with the introduction of the assembly line. Today, the company has continued to show its propensity for innovation, exploring and utilizing new technologies to reinvigorate vehicle production.
The inside mirror base for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé (W 198 model series), the spark plug holder from the tool kit of this iconic sports car as well as the sliding sunroof rollers for the W 110, W 111, W 112 and W 123 model series: these are important replacement parts for faithfully maintaining this classic of the brand with the star. They are once again available in genuine quality. Mercedes-Benz Classic has them newly produced in a 3D print. The process is particularly well-suited to smaller quantities and if the genuine tools are no longer available, for example. Mercedes 3D printed spare parts allow gaps in the replacement part supply of classic vehicles to be closed.
BMW Group has reached a big milestone in its use of additive manufacturing. According to the company, it has produced over a million parts with 3D printing over the past decade. By the end of this year alone it expects to reach more than 200,000 3D printed parts, marking a 42% increase over last year’s total.
BigRep has leveraged its large-scale 3D printing technology to create what it calls the world’s first fully FFF 3D printed (and functional) e-motorcycle. The 3D printed e-motorcycle, dubbed the NERA, was on display last week at Formnext along with a number of other innovative 3D printed prototypes, including a bionic passenger seat, an adaptive robotic gripper and a 360 degree mobile industry platform.
Energica Motor Company S.p.A., an Italian manufacturer of electric motorcycles, unveiled the Bolid-E, at EICMA 2018 earlier this month. The motorbike prototype, part of Samsung and Energica’s Smart Ride project, integrates a number of 3D printed components realized through a collaboration with CRP Technology.
At Formnext 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany, mobility specialist Techniplas is demonstrating a concept vehicle designed to showcase the company’s generative product design and additive manufacturing capabilities and services.