Upgrading an Automotive Tool with Additive Manufacturing

Eliminate issues caused by using conventionally manufactured tools

Experts at the Metal Competence Center are very familiar with applying AM technology to applications in the automotive industry. They are constantly rethinking old processes with AM. This is how the team identified a point within the production process that often causes inconsistency, time delays, and excess scrap—drape forming.

Metal Competence Center

Metal Competence Center unites and expands Materialise's metal 3D printing sites in Bremen under one roof, supporting integrated production and development.

When the Design & Engineering team came upon these issues, they immediately recognized the ways in which additive manufacturing could elevate the tool — while continuing to use aluminum to meet temperature and pressure restrictions.

While redesigning a part for additive manufacturing, it’s crucial that the team has a deep understanding of the application and how to design for 3D printing. Our Metal Competence Center team is well suited to do so because the center combines the expertise of experts in AM software, production, and design. With this know-how and Materialise software to streamline the process, the team fully rethought the part using AM.

• [Cost Reduction - Overall]
  

  A 3D-printed part that`s more performant, lighter, and cheaper

• The optimized channels was a boost in performance by 50%.

• Another benefit with the flexibility in design meant that the team could combine two components into one and reduce the part’s mass by 51%