3D printing is to become the great revolution of the automobile industry. And although we should not incur in cheating (you’re not going to be able to imprimirte your car at home, or lines of production are replaced by printers that print cars as churros) these techniques can revolutionize the development of new models, for the versatility they offer when it comes to building prototypes; and the process of post-sale, by how useful it would be to create parts and spare parts in the own workshop by simplifying the logistics and reducing costs and waiting times. How and what it is capable of 3D printing? The result is what you have in the picture that you see above. Audi has created a replica – using 3D printing – Auto Union Typ C 1936.
The technique of 3D printing is already revolutionizing the construction of prototypes and very soon you could completely transform the logistics and the attention to after-sales of the brands.
I Already said that the complete construction of a car is too complex to limit it only to the technique of the 3D printers. It is not yet viable. In any case, serve this replica – a scale 1:2 – a Auto Union Typ C to remind us the level of sophistication that has reached 3D printing, and to what extent the R & D departments of the brands are working against the clock to take maximum advantage of the benefits of this technique.
The system Audi Toolmaking is able to create panels of metal born of the union of a metal foil composed of grains of between 15 and 40 thousandths of a millimetre, that is to say, with a diameter comparable to half a human hair. The great versatility of 3D printing lies in the creation of structures and complex geometries without too many problems. Audi is already working on 3D printing of parts of steel and aluminium, with a size of around 24 inches in length and about 20 centimeters in height, with a higher density than pieces created by hot forming and molded. But obviously, with that size, and the complexity of the technique, since you will understand that it is still early to rely on that in the short or medium term, 3D printing will become the main technique of manufacture of a car.
Source: Audi
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