3D printing in the car industry

Ford is now experimenting 3D printing to lower costs of manufacturing and reduce the transportation involved in sourcing parts from around the world.
The 3D printing research team at ford are working with Carbon3D which is supported by Alphabet’s Google Ventures. Together they are investigating the use of Carbon3D’s printers for use in the mass production of cars.
Carbon3D
Carbon3D’s printers project use a method of 3D printing which light continuously streams through a pool of resin to gradually solidify it on to an overhead platform, and gradually lifts the object up until it is fully formed.
Carbon3D’s already has hundreds of pre-orders of 3D printers this year, however so far it is a far more expensive type of 3D printing than the 3D printers that is commonly used in the industry today. It will be interesting to see how this will change with the support of Alphabet’s Google Ventures and if the costs will decrease much.
The research team needs to accommodate speed with 3D printers to assist in avoiding heavy tooling costs. A hurdle will be sourcing of new materials required to mimic the properties of rubber, metals and some plastics that are used in car parts.

Meeting mass production
A recent survey by Deloitte and MHI showed the use of 3D printers in large supply chain businesses is increasing exponentially, with 14% of companies now using 3D printing and 48% expected to be using 3D printing within the next 10 years.
3D printing is making experimentation with prototyping, new designs and moulding a far cheaper than with traditional moulding and manufacturing. The next decade will surely see the automotive industry with significant changes, moving 3D printing into mass manufacturing of parts in manufacturing.

Want to know more? Here are some links for those who have a thirst for information:

More on Carbon3D here:

http://carbon3d.com/

Read more on the Wall Street Journal:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/auto-makers-others-explore-new-roles-for-3-d-printing-1461626635

Alphabet Inc.’s Google Ventures

https://abc.xyz/investor/