German OEMs flex 3D manufacturing muscle

A chief impediment for wider adoption of additive manufacturing long has been its limited potential for application in high-volume and high-throughput production. But continuing process and technique developments from automakers and suppliers are moving additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, closer to high-volume Valhalla, while also enabling production of increasingly complex and substantial components.

BMW has sporadically fitted specialized 3D-printed parts - both metal and polymer - in series-production models for more than a decade. Recently it has used its Rolls-Royce brand as a platform for introducing 3D-printing innovations in a low-volume but high-expectation environment. And in mid-2020, BMW invested some 15 million euros to establish its Additive Manufacturing Campus near Munich to research and develop new 3D printing processes and other innovations that might accelerate the potential for 3D-printed components at large scale. The company said the facility symbolizes its confidence that 3D printing is poised to enable new manufacturing vistas.