GM says it is continuing to use 3D printing – otherwise known as “additive manufacturing” – to produce durable parts more cheaply, improve safety, and create fixtures and tools that improve the manufacturing process itself.
Approximate 5,400 projects using 3D printing took place at GM during 2024 according to the automaker, and this number is expected to be significantly higher in 2025 as new applications are found for the process.
GM says that it has been making use of 3D printing in its production processes for three decades now, though the technique’s use has been greatly expanded during the past few years. The printers are used at the start of a vehicle’s manufacturing life for pre-production, creating part prototypes for testing while each vehicle design is still under development.
Once the model moves to line production, other parts can be produced via 3D printing. The components made in this way tend to be tough and long-lasting, since they can be built up without seams or other weak points created by non-additive production methods. They also tend to be lower-cost than traditionally manufactured parts, and often lighter weight.
Individual manufacturing plants also see personnel using 3D printing to create fixtures to aid the production steps being taken at the factory. GM provides the example of the GM Lansing Delta Township facility, where workers designed and 3D printed an under-10-pound hood prop fixture to hold vehicle hoods during assembly. The fixture is light enough to be positioned one-handed, unlike the previous 14-pound steel and titanium fixture made with older methods, increasing worker convenience.
These latest developments build on an extensive use of 3D printing in the past. The company began accelerating its adoption of the technology in 2018, with plans to have printers in every manufacturing plant. Additive production played an important role in building ventilators during 2020’s COVID pandemic, while during the same year Chevrolet Motorsports used 3D-printed fuel and exhaust system components in most of its race cars.
GM opened a dedicated 3D printing center in Warren, Michigan during December 2020. In 2022, delivery delays of the 2022 Chevy Tahoe were preventing by using 60,000 parts made with additive manufacturing. 3D-printed parts have been used in the manual transmission shift levers of Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing sedans since the 2022 model year.
Technical specialist Paul Wolcott of General Motors remarked that “additive manufacturing continues to enable us to build our vehicles safer and quicker.” He said that it solves problems from “accelerated lead times for tools to addressing ergonomic issues” and more uses become apparent the more that The General increases availability of the method.
Comments
3-D printing is just another example of how robotics will reduce the number of low-skilled jobs in industry. We need to wake up and start providing educational opportunities in high-skilled occupations so we can provide employment to the next generation of workers.
I’m all in for providing opportunity for trade work- but 3D printing mechanical components isn’t replacing any current low skilled labor. It’s augmenting automated machining. That’s where the cost is reduced. Less parts formed on a CNC means less wasted material and lower cost. 3D printing would only use material that is necessary to form a component such as an electrical harness bracket for example.
Ditto. And the article DOES state that most those 3D parts aren’t actually going to sold product. It’s more of rapid turnaround on changes to the lines themselves. Items that would need to be built by a machine shop with a 12 week lead time. I have a 3D printer at home, our engineering team does at work, and I’ll tell you, as far as max production, 3D printing is the worst way to make finished product. Injection molding/forging is 100-1000X faster. It’s a godsend however when you need 5-10 parts immediately and can’t wait for a mold to be formed.
FYI, we have a high diploma holder with a technical diploma overseeing the 3D printer at work. He more or less just refills the filament and engages change overs. So its actually creating low skill jobs if that’s what we are trying to count here. We might have gone for a high school flunky, but wouldn’t want them stealing the 3d printer.
As 3d printer technology progresses, I think you will see traditional manufacturing techniques go by the wayside. Injection molding and forging will always be around, but 3d printers can create objects that aren’t possible using those technologies. So if I have to injection mold/forge and assemble something that could be printed in one go you have to do the math.
That’s another great point! The Bugatti Tourbillon’s upper wishbone is a great example of this. The wishbone is stiffer and has less mass than a traditional structure. Its form factor cannot be achieved using traditional machining techniques. 3D printing has plenty potential and could absolutely scale to replace current processes.
People are always winning about the higher cost of new vehicles. When manufacturers find innovative ways to reduce cost people cry foul for reducing labor costs.
It is not about reducing manifacturing cost… but to increase car prices and satisfying shareholders.
Can they 3D print a next-gen ICE Camaro?