Streamlining Automotive Production with Additive Manufacturing
Using additive manufacturing not only can reduce lead times, it can provide significant cost savings through reduced material consumption and improved design.
Quality and production performance play a crucial role in automotive manufacturing today. With many automotive innovations on the horizon, such as autonomous vehicles and smart cars, OEMs and suppliers are under pressure to adopt new manufacturing techniques and expertise to ensure design, cost and labor efficiencies.
One simple, yet critical application in automotive quality and production ripe for transformation is the use of manufacturing aids, like jigs, fixtures, templates and gages. These often-overlooked tools help manufacturers deliver products reliably, repeatedly and at a low cost in order to maximize profits and product quality. Using additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) to produce jigs and fixtures not only can reduce lead times, it can provide significant cost savings through reduced material consumption and improved design.