How Can 3D Printing Benefit the Automotive Industry?
Over the course of the last few decades, 3D printing within the automotive industry has been used primarily for the purposes of creative prototypes. However, advancements in innovation and technology has allowed 3D printing to expand to a range of other applications within this sector. As experts in 3D Solutions, we have written this article to explore this in more detail.
What Advantages Do 3D Printing Have for the Automotive Industry?
Printing solutions for the automotive industry provide a range of benefits for performance characteristics. 3D printing can replace CNC production that is often expensive with long lead times. 3D Printing of plastic parts is cheaper with shorter in house production times. This results in a reduction of product costs, particularly when dealing with the manufacturing of complex bodies.
Furthermore, 3D printing in automotive design allows for lower consumption of materials and wastage, beneficial for all stages of manufacturing. Additionally, you can produce jigs and fixtures at a lower cost. You can modify or replace these when any change to a vehicle affects the fig or fixture.
Additive Manufacturing in the Automotive Industry
There are a range of core applications of additive manufacturing within the automotive sector. These include:
- Design and Concept of Communication - Creating high detail, smooth and accurate 3D printed scale models in order to show designs and concepts of new vehicles.
- Prototyping Validation - AM is now one of the most popular ways to validate a prototype, from small and quick printed detail to a high detail full-scale parts
- Customised Parts - the use of AM by those within automotive enterprises to tailor the parts to specific vehicles or even drivers. This is especially useful when the cost of these components is justified by substantial improvements in vehicle performance. .
Summary
As a 3D solutions company, we have seen how 3D printing has provided a range of unique benefits across a wide range of sectors. This is especially true for the automotive industry. From replacing expensive CNC production to the creation of customised parts and prototypes, 3D printing has proven to be immensely useful.
Contact Us - 3D Solutions
With both experience and expertise in 3D printing and technical designs, we are passionate about turning ideas into a reality. So if you need to solve a problem or bring a new idea to life, get in touch with our team today and we’ll identify how 3D printing can help. We look forward to hearing from you!
