With the development of 3D printing technology, FDM/FFF 3D printing technology based on material extrusion process has become increasingly rich in application scenarios in the automotive industry, and almost every link in the automotive industry can undertake corresponding tasks. In the early design and development process, FDM/FFF 3D printing technology can assist in the prototype verification of the design and development process; in the production process, it can be used to manufacture the tooling fixtures needed by the manufacturing plant; in the automotive aftermarket, it can be applied to the customized needs of automobile modification and maintenance, including small batch production of terminal parts.
Recently, industrial-grade FDM/FFF 3D printing company INTIMSYS-Yuanzhu Intelligent discussed the automotive manufacturing application of this technology with users in the automotive industry in the seminar of "Application Value of Industrial FDM 3D Printing Solutions in the Automotive Industry". This issue of 3D Science Valley shares some of these key points below.
Look at the market
Far casting intelligence
Additive manufacturing technology has developed rapidly, according to AMPOWER, the market size will reach 8.3 billion euros by 2021, and the size of the entire additive manufacturing industry is expected to reach 19.23 billion euros by 2026. The automotive industry accounts for 18.6% of the entire 3D printing industry, of which the application of new energy vehicles to additive manufacturing technology is growing faster. It can be reflected that the manufacturing of new energy vehicles has driven the utilization rate of additive manufacturing technology.
Look at the app
Far casting intelligence
According to Yuanzhu Intelligence, the current automotive manufacturing applications of industrial-grade FDM/FFF 3D printing technology can be classified into three categories:
01
The first category is the prototype class, which contains appearance prototypes, assembly prototypes, and functional prototypes
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The second category is the manufacture of some tools in the production process of the factory
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The third category is small batch production
In addition to intuitive applications, 3D printing technology can also bring more value to manufacturers in the automotive field.
For example, the company's internal additive manufacturing equipment can reduce dependence on external suppliers; the 3D printing ready-to-use feature can make spare parts exist in the form of digital inventory, which can reduce unnecessary inventory costs and waste; and then it can help automakers try a variety of new materials, and then apply them to the corresponding application scenarios.
▲Yuanzhu intelligent industrial grade FDM 3D printing equipment automotive industry solutions
Funmat PRO 610HT as a high-end industrial-grade large-size 3D printing equipment in the series line, printing size up to 610 * 508 * 508mm, support open wire system, to provide users with a wealth of material choices, high safety level design for operators to provide a safe and stable equipment operating environment, automatic material change to meet the needs of continuous production. Fully meet the needs of the automotive industry from the rapid iteration and verification of design prototypes, to the customized production of tooling fixtures and molds to the small batch production of terminal functional test parts.
Look at the hot spots
01What are the advantages of FFF/FDM 3D printing technology from the perspective of green environmental protection compared with traditional manufacturing materials?
As far as the technology itself is concerned, its printing material is wire, and its material utilization rate is very high in the entire printing cycle, including in the later processing process, so from the perspective of reducing material waste, the technology has great advantages. From the perspective of green environmental protection, the principle of FFF/FDM3D printing technology is relatively clear, including the post-processing of 3D printed parts, and the whole process will not discharge some toxic and harmful substances or other additional wastes into the environment.
02What are the business and technical problems before 3D printing technology moves towards large-scale manufacturing?
This is also a direction that most industrial-grade 3D printing manufacturers are committed to research, and it is also a hot spot that automotive companies are very concerned about. The automobile industry is actually the culmination of the civil industry, can do a good job in the application of the automobile industry, and then want to expand the application of other civilian industries is relatively easy, so in the automotive field usually see several important indicators, including technology, cost, efficiency and safety. In order to be able to promote 3D printing technology to large-scale manufacturing in the automotive field, it is necessary to weigh a number of factors, including printing high-performance material capabilities, material cost control and improved printing efficiency, etc., and also requires close cooperation from car users to do some optimization for additive manufacturing from this design end.
Car users often ask the question, this model was previously made of injection molding, so what are the advantages of switching to 3D printing technology now? From the perspective of small batch production applications, 3D printing has cost and efficiency advantages, and the next step is to optimize the design process. This is a problem of thinking transformation, requiring users to consider how to play the advantages of 3D printing from the concept stage to adjust the structure of the design. Giving full play to the advantages of additive manufacturing technology and promoting this technology to larger-scale manufacturing applications is inseparable from the two-way exploration of users and additive manufacturing companies.
Knowing is deep, but doing is far. Based on a global network of sophisticated manufacturing expert think tanks, 3D Science Valley provides the industry with in-depth observations of additive and intelligent manufacturing from a global perspective. For more analysis in the field of additive manufacturing, please pay attention to the white paper series published by 3D Science Valley.