To design finished parts and tooling, the best solution is probably in the technique of metal 3D printing, which is currently booming. In the automotive sector, the process has become essential for gaining speed, quality, and even production costs.
Major companies attracted by metal 3D printing
Metal is considered the “star material” of 3D printing. Metal additive manufacturing is experiencing a real boom in many sectors, such as the automotive industry. One of the most striking examples is obviously Ford, an automotive giant at the forefront of innovation. The manufacturer has 3D printed an intake manifold to install on a pickup truck. It would probably be “the largest 3D printed metal part ever installed on a working vehicle,” according to them. An essential part for the engine’s performance, it took 5 days to complete this print on a bed of aluminum powder before installing the lightweight part above a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine. Among the frequently used materials, aluminum offers the perfect combination of strength and lightness and thus allows the creation of parts whose weight is a significant factor. This is the case in both the automotive and aerospace industries.
Indeed, another giant, this time in aeronautics, has been won over by the process of metal 3D printing. Airbus has claimed the honor of installing the first 3D printed metal part on its A350. The support piece (155 x 74 x 65 mm), produced using electron beam melting (EBM) 3D printing, was placed on the pylon connecting the engine to the wing.
Boosting productivity with CNC machining
CNC machining uses the latest computer numerical control techniques. Milling machines are automated and computer-controlled. The absence of molds in this process allows for a reduction in production time and costs, making it possible to obtain completely identical parts. Let’s take a concrete example in the aerospace sector. It was one of the first industries to use CNC machining technology because of its ability to construct lightweight parts with quality physical properties. The manufacturing process has notably been used by researchers at Delft University of Technology to create “scaled-down versions of their engine prototype to enhance the efficiency of modern propeller engines.”
CNC machining is appealing for its ability to manufacture custom metal parts quickly and with great precision. Automotive, aerospace, aeronautics, and even jewelry sectors use these metal 3D printing processes, which are currently growing in many industrial sectors.
