The German company Volkswagen intends to introduce a new 3D printing technology in the production of serial cars. This is so-called additive manufacturing, which uses glue instead of a laser to reduce costs and increase productivity. Components printed using this technology are heated and formed. As a result, they weigh half as much as parts made from sheet steel. Today Volkswagen is the only automaker to use additive manufacturing. In particular, this technology is now being applied at the main plant in Wolfsburg.
To meet these ambitious goals, Volkswagen entered into a software partnership with Siemens and expanded its partnership with HP. The first company provides specialized software, and the second provides high-tech printers. Together, one of the key points of production was debugged, which optimizes the arrangement of components in the assembly chamber, so that you can create twice as many parts. The new 3D printing method has been developed for five years, and Volkswagen has spent tens of millions of euros on this project. The company noted that at the initial stage of applying the technology, parts will be identified that can be produced cheaper and faster.
Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant is projected to produce up to 100,000 parts per year using 3D printing by 2025. First of all, these will be the A-pillar components for the T-Roc Convertible. The company has previously conducted crash tests on 3D printed car parts. The results were satisfactory for the company, but back then, mass-producing components using 3D printing was expensive and economically impractical. With the help of new technology, everything has to change.
It is noteworthy that Volkswagen has been using 3D printing for 25 years. These were the various technologies that were used to create both plastic and metal components. During this time, the company has printed over a million parts.
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