Audi accelerates automotive design with AM

Audi has recently adopted Stratasys’ multi-material, multi-color printing technology to create multi-colored and transparent parts for their vehicles faster. Using a J750 3D printer, it should help them speed up their prototyping process and design verification steps.

In 2016, Stratasys unveiled their J750 3D printer based on patented PolyJet technology. Today, it offers the possibility of printing in a choice of more than 360,000 shades of colors, but also varied materials- from rigid to flexible or opaque to transparent. Since then, color 3D printing has become even more developed with the arrival of actors such as Mimaki and HP. The Stratasys solution, however, allows mixing materials and colors, a key advantage in the automotive sector where part design is particularly important.

Stratasys J750 3D Printer

Additive manufacturing at Audi

In 2002, Audi opened a 3D plastic printing center in Ingolstadt, Germany, where they acquired a dozen 3D polymer printers, including FDM and PolyJet printers. The manufacturer explains that these machines allow them to make different prototypes before the production of a vehicle; they are then able to evaluate all creations, from wheel covers and grilles to door handles. By adding the J750 to their lineup, they hope to produce multicolored and transparent parts, including taillight cabochons.