Tesla Turns to 3D Printing to ‘Reinvent Carmaking’

As concerns about the environment have grown, so has the market for electric vehicles. Often considered to be more eco-friendly thanks to the fact that they do not need gas to function, in 2023 most car manufacturers have their own models to offer customers. However, Tesla, run by Elon Musk, continues to be the forefront in the field. Now it seems the company is hoping to distance itself even more from its competitors. According to a report in Reuters, Tesla is considering turning to sand 3D printing to further cut costs when creating electric vehicles, complimenting its already revolutionary processes.

3D printing has been used in a number of different forms already in the automotive sector. But often when we discuss it, it is focused on more direct processes. For example the use of FDM 3D printing for prototypes or end-use parts, such as the case at Ford. To our knowledge, this will be one of the first times that an American car manufacturer seeks to adopt AM for this indirect process by using sand 3D printing to create the molds before turning to other methods to create the actual part.

3D printing would complement Tesla’s existing car manufacturing methods (photo credits: Tesla)

Tesla Adopts Sand 3D Printing

As mentioned, it seems that additive manufacturing will not be used for the entire car manufacturing process. Rather, Tesla plans to use it to complement their pioneered process where huge presses mold the front and rear structures in a “gigacasting” process. This has already helped the company to slash production costs and put it ahead of competitors. This latest innovation would help them to widen the gap even further.