Applications of 3d printers in the automotive industry
Applications of 3d printers in the automotive industry
3D printing technology originated in 1986 when Charles Hull, an American scientist, developed the first commercial large FDM 3d printer.
After more than 30 years of development, 3d printing has been applied in various industries.
3D printing used to be a gimmick, not considered suitable for industrial production because of its difficulty in mass production and lack of strength in processed products.
However, from the current APPLICATION of 3D printing in aerospace, medical field, building construction, automobile, electronics and other industries, it can be seen that this new processing technology must have its value and significance.
3D printing has more and more obvious advantages in small batch production, private customization and complex structural processing. However, in the research and development process of automobiles, small batch production or even single production, and the structure of auto parts is relatively complex, so 3D printing can significantly reduce the processing cost and shorten the research and development cycle.
The research and development cycle of automobiles is generally 3~5 years, which includes the modeling, design, trial production and test of automobiles.
The longer the research and development cycle is, the more unfavorable the development of automobile industry in the current environment of fierce competition.
The long manufacturing process of spare parts increases the research and development cycle of automobile. For traditional manufacturing technology, the manufacturing process of spare parts includes spare parts design, mold design and manufacturing, and spare parts forming.
The 3d printing model process does not require the design and manufacture of molds, which will greatly reduce the time and cost of trial production of parts. For example, for the design and production of the instrument panel air outlet assembly, the traditional ABS machining takes 8 days and costs USD1000, while the 3D printing technology only takes 1 day and costs USD150.
Efficiency and cost reduction are the real reasons why 3D printing technology can be applied to the production process, not the so-called "gimmicks".
"Compared with traditional injection molding, 3D printing greatly shortens the time needed for product design and prototype development while ensuring the quality of product design, and improves the efficiency of RESEARCH and development." Faw-volkswagen has used 3D printing technology since 2005, and now prints an average of about 5,000 parts per year. Enterprises must consider the maximization of economic benefits in the application of technology, and the role of 3D printing in the process of automobile research and development is evident.
With the current intelligent and green development of automobiles, the replacement speed of automobiles will be faster and faster. Therefore, shortening the research and development time will undoubtedly bring huge advantages for enterprises.
3D printing technology also provides new ideas for the design of cars.
