Aplicaciones del 3d print industria automovil

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We live in a fast-paced time when everything can change in a wink. Electric cars and self-driving cars have already become a part of our lives, as well as cloud-to-car mapping systems and driver behavior monitoring systems which are valued by drivers and insurance companies alike. The dynamic economic environment and more and more demanding consumers are making automakers look for new opportunities and materials to catch up with other industries.

This is an environment where necessity breeds innovation.

Deloitte University experts recently shared how additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, commonly known as 3D printing, and their advances “have transformed the potential ways in which products are designed, developed, manufactured, and distributed”.

Impact of 3D Printing on Automotive Industry

For the past few decades, 3D printing in the automotive industry was primarily used by carmakers to create automotive prototypes to check their form and fit. The first technology for building parts was selective laser sintering or binder jetting. This allowed automakers to create aesthetically pleasant parts, but they were weak and could not be used for long periods. According to engineering.com, today there are more robust technologies for automotive 3D printing, such as fused filament fabrication (FFF), which can be used not only for the production of prototypes but also for end-use parts.

3D printing for automotive parts can be a game changer in the industry. The Global Automotive Outlook 2017 projects that “the global automotive industry is set to reach 114 million in worldwide sales annually by 2024”. This market has very high barriers of entry as it is dominated by just a few OEMs. The parts and accessories market looks different. There are a lot of large scale and smaller players and the competition there is very high. It is projected that this market will reach around US$ 17 Bn by the end of 2025. And, last but not least, according to Machine Design, consumption of 3D printing materials by the automotive industry will reach around $530 million by 2021.

Core Applications of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in the Automotive Industry

Design and concept communication	High detail, smooth and accurate 3D printed scale models are very often used in the automotive industry to demonstrate designs and concepts of new vehicles. The reason is simple – using CAD models alone is not effective enough to define possible design problems. Such models are also used for the aerodynamic testing of new models.
Prototyping validation	Like in many other industries, prototyping is a very important part of the manufacturing process in the automotive sector. 3D printing allows for rapid prototyping in the pre-manufacturing stage. Using AM now is one of the most popular ways to validate a prototype – from a small quickly printed detail to a high detail full-scale part suitable for performance validation and testing.
Preproduction sampling and tooling	The specialists of 3dhubs regard this application is the most promising. 3D printing can be used to make molds and thermoforming tools, rapid manufacturing of grips, jigs and fixtures. This allows automakers to produce samples and tools at low costs and to eliminate future losses in production when investing in high-cost tooling.
Customized parts	Additive manufacturing is used by automotive enterprises to tailor the parts to specific vehicles (making them custom and lightweight) or even driver (e.g. seats for racing cars). This is especially useful when the cost of such unique components is justified by a substantial improvement in vehicle performance.

Source / Images: MyMiniFactory