In recent years, Volkswagen Group, one of the world's four largest automobile manufacturers, has been exploring the application of 3D printing and has obtained some achievements. Volkswagen has 3D printed more than 1,000 car parts at their Portuguese factory.

Compared with traditional manufacturing processes, 3D printing metal parts can not only obtain more complex structures, but also reduce material waste. In addition, 3D printed parts are lighter and can reduce fuel consumption on the premise of ensuring performance, achieving the goal of  environmental protection. Take the Volkswagen’s A-pillar which is one of the main parts used to support structural strength of the vehicle as an example. The research and development personnel have tested that using 3D printed metal structural parts can reduce the weight of the A-pillar reinforcement system by 74% on the premise of not affecting strength and durability. However, the cost of 3D printed parts is too high to realize mass production, and currently it is mainly in the development stage of cars or small batch production of supercars.

Volkswagen Group said that those small and complex parts are clearly more suitable for direct manufacturing by using 3D printing. At present, they mainly use 3D printing technology to manufacture parts for their high-end brand models. A senior Volkswagen analyst said that the number of parts produced by using metal 3D printing should not exceed 200 in order to be cost-effective. However, this number will be increased to 3,000 after manufacturing processes and equipment processes are optimized. It is reported that Volkswagen Group has a total of 90 sets of 3D printers coming into use in 26 factories around the world, including Belmond, Braunschweig, Hanover and Changchun.

The current situation of 3D printing in automobile manufacturing
At present, many auto manufacturers use 3D printing to make prototypes of parts, performing industrial verification and modifying designs during the Research & Development phase. Of course, many companies already try to use 3D printing to manufacture cars. Among the metal parts used in automobiles, there are forged and casted ones, and casted ones account for the majority. Forged parts have better mechanical properties and rigidity, and are generally used for important parts. The mechanical properties of castings are not as good as forgings, and castings are generally used for non-important parts. The current metal 3D printed parts have relatively poor shear resistance, but other properties should be better than cast parts and are worse than forged parts.

3D printing technology in applications and prospects of the automotive industry
Although the application of 3D printing technology in the automotive industry is still at a relatively early stage, 3D printing technology has set off a new round of manufacturing technology innovation in the automotive industry. In 2014, Local Motors used its printing equipment to build the world's first 3D car Strati with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene plastic (ABS) and carbon fiber mixtures with a ratio of 80/20. In 2016, Honda released a new version of the Micro-Commuter electric car, which also applied 3D printing technology. Subsequently, other car companies have also followed up, using 3D printing technology to create key components to ensure consistent product quality and reliable product performance, and are actively committed to continuously shortening the lead-time. According to a report titled Global 3D Printing Automotive Market Analysis and Development Trends-Industry Forecast to 2025, the application of 3D printing equipment will increase by 10%, most of which will be used for manufacture of car and truck parts from now to 2025.