Rethinking Mobility Thanks to 3D Printing

Sooner or later, self-driving vehicles will become part of our everyday lives, and it’s not just the carmakers themselves who have realized this. Well-known automotive giants like Volkswagen, Audi and Daimler are increasingly facing competition from tech giants like Google or Apple and other manufacturers who know how to rethink mobility. Experts agree that this dynamic competition will help the automotive industry to blossom again. 3D printing, artificial intelligence and electric mobility are among the driving forces that will make the production and use of vehicles not only more efficient but also more ecological. From the existing multitude of innovations in the automotive industry, we want to bring your attention a few examples of 3D printing in the automotive industry that we think deserve our attention in 2021.

BMW plans to start series production of the iX this year

As a wide variety of technologies are being used together for this third revolution of the automobile, some companies are increasingly specializing in the development of parts. For example, BMW is cooperating with both Intel and Mobileye to bring the BMW iX to market. For this, in addition to an all-electric powertrain, the automotive giant is relying on 5G data transmission, ushering in a new era for car-to-x communication. BMW is also known for taking advantage of additive manufacturing for its prototypes, parts and vehicle components. For this purpose, the company’s own Additive Manufacturing Center in Munich produces more than 100,000 parts made of metal or plastic using 3D printing every year. For the presentation of the iX model, a 3D-printed radiator grille was processed, which skilfully embodies the intelligent platform underneath. However, it is still unclear whether and to what extent this will be used for the production launch of the BMW iX. The market launch is planned for the end of this year.

Hyundai’s TIGER-X1 to enable unmanned lunar expeditions

But other companies are also coming up with new vehicle models this year and integrating additive manufacturing into their production processes. Among them, for example, is the South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, which, in collaboration with Autodesk, is presenting a four-legged robot car construct. The Tiger (Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot), developed by New Horizon Studio in California for a transportation study, could become a possible future model for unmanned lunar and moorland expeditions.