Rolls-Royce is accelerating the integration of 3D printing into its production process

Since the start of the year, the British manufacturer Rolls-Royce, a subsidiary of the BMW Group, has been 3D printing plastic and metal parts for its Rolls-Royce Ghost model. The parts are manufactured along the production line at various locations in the global production network and are assembled in Goodwood, England. The manufacturer says it will install several hundred thousand 3D printed parts in the Rolls-Royce Ghost over the life cycle of the car model, drawing on BMW’s experience with its new additive manufacturing center. The group wishes to rely on 3D printing technologies to produce vehicles in series, Rolls-Royce being only the beginning of this great adventure.

Last June, the BMW Group opened its Additive Manufacturing Campus in Oberschleissheim, north of Munich, to bring together some 50 solutions for plastic and metal 3D printing. The group’s ambition is to industrialize these manufacturing processes, automate them and constantly innovate in terms of design. Daniel Schäfer, Head of Production Integration and Pilot Plant Integration at the BMW Group, adds: “Processes such as additive manufacturing help us to shorten development cycles and thus get our vehicles into production faster. 3D printing also helps us to reduce component production times while maintaining high quality standards“. These advantages were quickly incorporated by the group’s English subsidiary, Rolls-Royce, which has been able to adopt 3D printing and now designs end-use parts in higher volumes. We are still a long way from mass production, but these development are nevertheless encouraging.

Rolls-Royce has produced metal 3D printed parts | Photo Credits: BMW

Rolls-Royce relies on plastic and metal technologies

Last October, Rolls-Royce introduced 3D printed components in its Extended Ghost model. The parts printed by the manufacturer are for the passenger cell and under the body, and are highly functional and rigid. For the interior, the group designed plastic components using selective laser sintering (SLS) and Multi Jet Fusion technologies, while for the metal parts, Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) was preferred. The latter are manufactured at the BMW Group’s plant in Landshut, Germany, and then integrated almost fully automatically into the production process.