Electric Vehicles (EVs)
8 Cool Parts From Formnext 2023: The Cool Parts Show #65
New additive manufacturing technologies on display at Formnext were in many cases producing notable end-use components. Here are some of the coolest parts we found at this year’s show.
Peter Zelinski
Editor-in-Chief, Additive Manufacturing
What Does Additive Manufacturing Readiness Look Like?
The promise of distributed manufacturing is alluring, but to get there AM first needs to master scale production. GKN Additive’s Michigan facility illustrates what the journey might look like.
Read MoreAluminum Gets Its Own Additive Manufacturing Process
Alloy Enterprises’ selective diffusion bonding process is specifically designed for high throughput production of aluminum parts, enabling additive manufacturing to compete with casting.
Read MoreGE Sells Generator Technology for Stake in EV Startup
The company says the Karno generator is expected to be 20%+ more efficient than today’s leading generators — achieved by 3D printing of thermal components and innovative fuel-to-electricity conversion.
Read MoreSakuu Opens Silicon Valley Engineering Hub
The company says the engineering hub will advance its domestic battery printing initiatives and serve as a gateway for at-scale battery printing gigafactories globally.
Read More3D Printed Cold Plate for an Electric Race Car: The Cool Parts Show #51
An unconventional lattice design and biomimicry are key to the performance of this fluid-cooled heat exchanger for a battery-powered race car.
Read MoreHow Additive Manufacturing Is Transforming EVs and Transportation: AM Radio #23
As 3D printing is adopted into the electric vehicle (EV) market, it is not just vehicles that are being reshaped. In this episode of the AM Radio podcast, we discuss additive manufacturing and the future of transportation.
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8 Transformations 3D Printing Is Making Possible
Additive manufacturing changes every space it touches; progress can be tracked by looking for moments of transformation. Here are 8 places where 3D printing is enabling transformative change.
Stephanie Hendrixson
Executive Editor, Additive Manufacturing
How GM Is Investing in Additive and EVs
People within the automaker aren’t just working with additive, they are actively promoting it to their colleagues throughout the organization.
Read MoreNew Electric Dirt Bike Is Designed for Molding, but Produced Through 3D Printing (Includes Video)
Cobra Moto’s new all-electric youth motocross bike could not wait for mold tooling. Parts have been designed so they can be molded eventually, but to get the bike to market, the production method now is additive manufacturing.
Read MoreMultimaterial 3D Printing Enables Solid State Batteries
By combining different 3D printing processes and materials in a single layer, Sakuu’s Kavian platform can produce batteries for electric vehicles and other applications with twice the energy density and greater safety than traditional lithium-ion solutions.
Read More6K Receives Innovation Grant for Battery Production
The state grant will fund the purchase of one new UniMelt system, a technology designed by 6K that will be used to produce metal powders used in AM and battery material production.
Read MorePlastics Assembly Expert Joins Development and Production via 3D Printing
Manufacturing technology supplier Extol has always served customers who are producing polymer parts. Now, it is making some of those parts in-house through 3D printing, providing new options ranging from functional prototyping into bridge production and beyond.
Read MoreHow Additive Manufacturing is Filling Electric Vehicle Production Needs
Electric vehicles are reshaping transportation, but they are also changing vehicle production. Electrification brings a blank slate to the manufacturing process, providing inroads for additive manufacturing to potentially fill production needs.
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3D Printed Spares, Electrification and Cool Parts: Top 10 Stories of 2022: AM Radio #31
Our top articles and videos from 2022 reflect increasing use of additive manufacturing for replacement parts; growing applications for electric motors; and a maturing user base. Read through the top 10 list or listen to the AM Radio podcast episode all about these stories.
Stephanie Hendrixson
Executive Editor, Additive Manufacturing
Audi Creates 3D Printing Filament from Parts Packaging
The German automotive company is among the leaders in material reuse—which includes making filaments from what might otherwise be considered waste.
Read MorePeugeot Creates Stylish Accessories
Designers found additive manufacturing provides the look, feel and function they wanted to accessorize the new Peugeot 308.
Read More3D Printed Tool for Machining Electric Vehicle Motors: The Cool Parts Show #39
Additive manufacturing achieves a large-diameter cutting tool light enough for fast, precise machining of the motor housing’s stator bore.
Read MoreExOne, Maxxwell Motors Successfully Binder Jet 3D Print Copper Winding for Electric Drive
Unique copper e-winding design for its axial flux electric motors can be used in electric cars as well as a range of other heavy-duty vehicles and industrial devices.
Read MoreThermoplastic Composites Facilitate DED of Electric Scooter
The Scotsman scooter’s creators say it is the first fully custom, 3D printed electric scooter. The company uses Arevo’s Aqua DED system to print the carbon-fiber thermoplastic composite body.
Read MoreSakuu Launches Multimaterial, Multi-Process 3D Printer for EV Batteries
Multimaterial, multi-process additive manufacturing platform solves issues of performance and cost, using 50% fewer materials to deliver up to twice the energy capacity in the same space or the same energy in half the space.
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How Aggressive EV Timelines Point to AM
Electric vehicle sales are expected to grow significantly in the next decade. Additive manufacturing can help automakers fill their production needs.
Jodee McElfresh
Digital Associate Editor, Additive Manufacturing and CompositesWorld
Sand 3D Printing Benefits Lightweighting and EV Production
Brooks Crownhill Limited has used Voxeljet’s sand 3D printers to rapidly prototype automobile part molds, with the increased design flexibility enabling lightweighting while strengthening individual components.
Read MorePhotocentric Explores How 3D Printed Battery Electrodes Could Drive Electric Vehicles Forward
Precise control of battery electrode architecture through photopolymerization opens the door to new cell geometries and lighter battery packs for EVs and more, Photocentric says.
Read MorePorsche Advances Electrification with Generative Design
The sports car manufacturer achieves weight savings and assembly consolidation using additive manufacturing instead of casting for an electric drive housing.
Read MoreGenerative Design to Bring Weight and Cost Savings for Micromobility FUV
The “Fun Utility Vehicle” from Arcimoto is already in production, and already lightweight. But after just 30 days of redesign for additive manufacturing, the company discovered major components could be made lighter still, and production could be made simpler.
Read MoreWhy GM’s Electric Future Is Also an Additive Future
Production capacity isn’t the only reason that additive has been slow to make inroads into the automotive industry. There is a larger barrier to entry—one that General Motors and Autodesk are working to overcome.
Read MoreThe Man behind the Strati 3D-Printed Car to Be Keynote Speaker
Jay Rogers, CEO and co-founder of Local Motors, will deliver the keynote address at The MFG Meeting next March in Orlando, Florida. Rogers led the team that produced the "Strati," called the world's first 3D printed electric car. It was a showstopper at IMTS 2014.
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