To date, key challenges have stood in the way of 3D printing becoming a manufacturing tool for the automaker. The first issue is a fundamental one — conventional 3D printing technologies make parts layer-by-layer, slowly crafting one layer at a time, creating parts that aren’t nearly as robust as those stamped or injection molded. While the slow speed of this process is a major drawback, the bigger problem is that the parts produced are not isotropic and not durable enough to be used in production vehicles. In addition, most parts used in vehicles today must withstand temperature extremes from the hottest desert to the coldest Arctic environments and still maintain their integrity. With only a handful of stock materials available for 3D printers, meeting the automaker’s unique demands has not been possible.

As the automotive industry continues to tighten product development timelines, compressing design time in the supplier network has been the go-to model to achieve desired results. Traditionally, to successfully address the economics of part production, Delphi has used technologies like injection molding to deliver parts at scale. The cost of tooling development and time associated has limited part production to be focused on mass-production only.