GENERAL NEWS
Industrial-scale 3D printing advances at BMW Group
The BMW Group is taking the next step in the systematic integration of additive manufacturing . Its aim is to scale additive manufacturing up to industrial levels and firmly establish it in various areas – primarily vehicle development and production – to positive economic effect . The BMW Group is benefitting fully from the advantages of the technology , which offers rapid availability of components , flexible component design and the ability to manufacture parts without elaborate tools .
Daniel Schäfer , Senior Vice President for Production Integration and Pilot Plant , BMW Group : “ Processes such as additive manufacturing help us to speed up development cycles and get our vehicles to series maturity faster . 3D printing also shortens the production times of components while meeting rigorous quality requirements .”
Since the middle of 2020 , the BMW Group has been additively manufacturing metal and polymer parts for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars . They are made at various points in the process chain and different sites across the global production network . The components concerned are for the vehicle body and passenger cell , and are highly functional and rigid . The process for manufacturing them was developed and prepared for application in automotive production by the BMW Group , at the company ’ s Additive Manufacturing Campus , which also produces polymer parts by multi-jet fusion and selective laser sintering .
At BMW Group Plant Landshut , metal parts are currently made by laser beam melting . In production , the metal 3D-printed components are fitted to car bodies in an almost entirely automated process .
The degree to which additive manufacturing can be used in parts production was ascertained in the early stages of the vehicle development . Engineers as well as production and materials experts examined hundreds of components , focusing on the economic benefits of the new technology , and on the weight and geometry advantages compared with conventionally manufactured parts . Components were selected for 3D printing based on a series of criteria and requirements , which were defined and translated into “ machine language ” with the help of data scientists . This marked the start of a new AI system enabling the BMW Group to identify faster and earlier the components which could potentially be produced by 3D printing .
“ Parts that had previously been virtually impossible to realise are engineered by generative design , which uses computer algorithms for rapid component development . Together , experts and computers create parts that make the best possible use of materials in production . Many potential applications are only possible at all thanks to generative design ,
Above and inset : Additive manufacturing at BMW .
and 3D printing technologies are particularly suitable for creating their complex forms and structures , which were previously impossible to produce with conventional tools ,” said BMW . “ For the BMW Group , generative design resulted in topology-optimised solutions , where form and function have been significantly enhanced . The components are around 50 per cent lighter than comparable conventional components and make the best possible use of the space available , as is the case with the damper for the rear lid ,” it added .
Since June the BMW Group has pooled its entire technology expertise at the Additive Manufacturing Campus just outside Munich , Germany . The new campus also provides training for associates from around the world to use the new technologies and is the home of BMW ’ s prototype component production . The centre of excellence currently has up to 80 associates and already operates about 50 metal and polymer processing systems . A further 50-plus systems are operating at other production sites around the world . n
Manufacturing parts for the Rolls Royce Ghost . Additively manufacturing a component by selective laser beam melting .
ISMR February 2021 | sheetmetalplus . com | 5