Industry uses 3-D printing heavily in product development

Posted on 10/27/2014 4:45:18 PM

Ford Motor Company has established more than 12 worldwide every minute. Local Car requires six days in a recent presentation to establish a single car in Chicago.

Both are largely dependent technology called 3-D printing, which requires a thin layer of raw materials and objects gradually formed. Ford used to build a prototype and test more efficient products, but local rental company, through its auto giant $ 1 million in the chassis and body of the printer, and even go beyond.

"Instead of having a manufacturing site, as Detroit or Japan, we microbreweries are these people from around the world come to personalize your car buying experience," said James Earl a local rental company in the chief engineer of project, said. "It allows consumers to interact more with your car as it is."

Local rental company expects to start selling its cars, called Strati, turnover on the crisis next year, although the car is still there, meanwhile, can also occur through crash tests, and cleared plenty of other obstacles. Reported that finished vehicles - including powertrain, wheels, suspension and other internal components of acquisitions Renault - sold between $ 18,00030,000 yuan, part of the cost of printing on more than 5,000 yuan.

Print new cars in 3-D created a lot of publicity from local rental company Strati show this month on "Today" on NBC, but 3-D printing is an effective part of the automotive industry. With decreasing costs and improving the ability of vehicle manufacturers and suppliers are increasingly dependent on print in 3-D, shorten cycle of product development, reduce the cost of prototyping, reducing mechanical failure and test new ways to improve fuel efficiency.

Not much impact produced in the process itself, however, because the cost is too high, the volume is too low.

Ford has done for almost 30 years to buy a third of the 3-D printer, now operates five laboratories of time from a few hours to several days to form a resin parts, quartz powder, sand, and even metal.

2010, Ford said it would be a costly four-month delay in the introduction of laboratory Ford Explorer is avoided, uses quickly diagnose and resolve issues discovered recently started a brake noise. It also uses 3-D printing - also known as additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping - to maximize the efficiency of its EcoBoost range of engines, including the new 2.7-liter engine in the next F-150 pickup.

"This engine is the prototype of these technologies from the bottom up," Harold Sears, Ford Experts additive manufacturing technology say. "These processes are touching each section, from bumper to bumper and roof to the ground."

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