News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Callum Automotive installed MakerBot‘s METHOD X 3D printer to produce functional prototypes, tooling, and production parts. Callum’s luxury automotive design business focuses on luxury vehicles and associated lifestyle brands, including the limited edition Aston Martin Callum Vanquish 25 by R-Reforged.
The MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW is the new safety car of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship racing series and thus connects the brand’s electrified future with the rich racing history of John Cooper Works. The vehicle, which also sports unique, generatively designed, 3D printed seats, was created on the basis of the new MINI Cooper SE in a previously unique collaboration between MINI Design, BMW Motorsport, the FIA and Formula E.
PWR Performance Solutions, based in Australia, decided to look into adding metal 3D printing technology to its current workflow, to stay at the forefront of manufacturing capacity. The heat exchanger pictured above was designed by PWR to test the capabilities of different aspects of 3D printing. PWR engineers designed the fin structure and tube array as a benchmark for testing minimum wall thickness, surface finish, and heat transfer efficiency. To produce the parts, PWR chose E-plus 3D as a supplier and ordered an EP-M250Pro MPBF system.
AUDI AG, a leading manufacturer of premium vehicles, is relying entirely on industrial 3D printing at its Metal 3D Printing Centre in Ingolstadt for the production of selected tool segments. Additive manufacturing (AM) with EOS technology is used for 12 segments of four tools for hot forming. Plans call for significantly more segments to be printed this way. Audi uses the tool segments produced using the EOS M 400 system in its press shop to make body panels for models including the Audi A4. The company plans to do the same for future electric vehicles.
The hottest competition is in metal binder jetting and so it happens that, on the same day, two leaders in this field make a comparable breakthrough announcement: the ability to 3D print aluminum 6061 alloy by binder jetting and, more importantly, to proficiently sinter it. ExOne achieved this aluminum binder jetting breakthrough by working with Ford Motors Company on a new patent-pending process.
PIX Moving is working to reshape the future of city life by fully exploiting autonomous mobility and bringing mobility to traditionally fixed brick and mortar business spaces. The team developed many electric chassis platforms of various sizes, that customers use as a base to develop their ideas. A few days ago we reported on the company’s unique use of generative design and WAAM technology. Now Mechanical Design Engineer Siddharth Suhas Pawar expands on that, presenting the business case for the use of WAAM processes in actual production.
In 2019, PIX turned to WAAM (wire arc additive manufacturing), then an emerging AM technology that used a combination of an electric arc as heat source and a metal wire as feedstock. The result chassis was much lighter and easier to produce, thus reducing costs for PIX, whose goal is to provide cities with sustainable autonomous mobility.
There is untapped potential for 5G, the newest, fastest wireless communication band, in the large automotive market. Rhosoon Intelligent Technology Co. has used Farsoon‘s 403P laser powder bed fusion system to realize some of this latent potential.
Swiss motorsport company Sauber is a historic team in the Formula 1 circuit, where it has been competing since 1993. The intensive implementation of AM at Sauber since the early 2000s is not the only reason why the company is now playing such a relevant role in the AM industry: Sauber Engineering was established to leverage the team’s unique engineering know-how and provide design and production services using Additive Industries’ MetalFAB1 metal 3D printers. Last year this led to the production of over 22,000 metal laser PBF printed parts; and these are just the start.
Reducing vehicle weight reduces CO2 emissions and remains a key concern for auto manufacturers. FEV and its partners in the LeiMot (Lightweight Engine) research project use additive manufacturing to demonstrate further combustion engine emission economies. FEV engineers were able to make engine functions, such as cooling or oil circulation, more efficient. Large assemblies of a passenger car reference diesel engine weight in around 21 percent lighter.