Posted on 09/12/2018 10:19:33 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Volkswagen would be using 3D printers for mass production of parts. The world’s largest carmaker has found a new innovative way of making use of the 3D printer.
Volkswagen revealed about its plans on Tuesday about starting to use the HP metal printing technology for manufacturing selected parts which include gear knobs and customized tailgate lettering.
The company unveiled its plans that it wants to mass produce its structural parts via making use of the technology within the span of two to three years.
Martin Goede—the Volkswagen’s Head of Technology Planning and Development said that the complete automobile would probably not be made by a 3D printer in near time, however, the number and size of the parts manufactured using the technology would increase significantly.
3D printing is not something new when it comes to the auto manufacturing industry, however, the technology so far has been used only for prototypes and individual parts. A typical Volkswagen is made using up to eight thousand parts.
Goede said that a big benefit of using the 3D printing is that it permits the firm to produce many of these parts without the need of making any manufacturing tools.
Volkswagen has already got ninety 3D printers available in its plant, which are used for the making of replacements of rare components.
However, the carmaker said that the new technology would permit for even “highly stressed” components like pistons to be printed. The printer throws layer upon layer of materials until the entire material is baked into a single unit.
HP said that its new metal printing service would not just be limited to car parts.
Dion Weisler—the CEO of HP said in a statement that the impact of using this technology is extensive, the industrial, medical and auto sectors alone produces billions of metal components per year.
Inventory and transportation costs alone will save these guys millions on just a few parts.
I wonder what percentage of parts that are printable justified the addition of the printing machines. Sure you reduce tooling but if you’re still fabricating 50% of your unprintable parts that means you have twice the number of operators and use double the plant space depending on how big of a footprint the printers take up.
I think anything that depends on “cast” parts could benefit. Forged parts are a different story.
One thing I find fascinating was something my son-in-law was mentioning regarding AI being used to design simple joints. He said that when the AI was given the task to make them as strong and light as possible the disigns looked eerily like the joints you see in living organisms, rather than the stuff an engineer would design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR5N2Jl8k14
Not to mention the reduction in changeover time.
Somewhere in the future: *Remember when we had stuff made of billet and forged steel? Really stout stuff, lasted seems forever.
https://www.desktopmetal.com/products/production/
https://www.desktopmetal.com/video/production-system/
But I once worked on a project that was providing very high volume commodity computing stuff to the entire US Navy. My mindset had to change completely. Low cost items but very high volume, turned out that taking $10 off an item could translate into millions in savings because there were so many of them. This is what the auto industry deals with. Cutting cost on a bolt can translate into huge savings downstream.
3D printers capable of doing large scale metalwork are costly. But if you have a very high volume business they can pay for themselves pretty fast.
They’ve made 1911s out of 3D printed Inconel. The shooters got bored long before the thing showed wear.
In some cases, it’s entirely possible that the 3D printed part will last longer due to the requirements of 3D metal printing.
Also, it may be more like: “Remember when we had stuff made of billet? Man, that stuff sucked due to the inclusions and crap billets people used.”
I have had billet parts like footpegs and rearsets break and not because of crashing or weight.
I signed up for the mailing list.
So much out there to keep track of and if I don’t see a reminder of a name, I’ll forget it.
3D stuff is fascinating.
GE is making a new turboprop using 3D printing extensively. An additional advantage is they were able to significantly lower the total number of parts.
“…the new technology would permit for even “highly stressed” components like pistons to be printed.”
Is it really better and more efficient to build up a shape layer by layer than to pour molten metal into a mold or to stamp and forge parts? I’m skeptical about how far this will go to replace conventional mass production methods.
We are living in the magic age of the robots. I remember my elementary school teachers trying to explain these abstract concepts. They have taken over our physical labor and we so much more time to become reliant on the government, and riot, and stuff.
Every thing you need except the springs!
Additive manufacturing is a great new tech for prototyping and small volume, but it is a slow process. How many frames are hydro formed in an hour, or body panels stamped (drawn) often tailored blanks consisting of dis-similar material? Way to slow. And while there no hard tooling costs, the material costs are substantially greater.
What could go wrong?
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