Audi Adopts Stratasys Full Color Multi-Material 3D Printing to Innovate and Accelerate Automotive Design
June 07 2018 - 4:10AM
Business Wire
Audi expects significant reduction in
prototyping lead times for tail light covers, with turnaround times
decreasing up to 50% in comparison to traditional methods
The vivid colors of the Stratasys J750 3D
Printer enables Audi to produce transparent, multi-colored parts
meeting texture and color-matching requirements of its stringent
design approval process
Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) today announced that the Audi
Pre-Series Center with its Plastics 3D Printing Center in
Ingolstadt, Germany, will leverage the world’s only full-color,
multi-material 3D printer – the Stratasys J750 – to innovate its
design process and accelerate design verification. For the
production of tail light covers, Audi expects to reduce prototyping
lead times by up to 50 percent.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180607005410/en/
The Audi Plastics 3D Printing Center will
use the unique J750 3D Printer to produce ultra-realistic,
multi-colored, transparent tail light covers in a single print
(Photo: Business Wire)
Before a new vehicle goes into production, the Audi Pre-Series
Center in Ingolstadt builds physical models and prototypes for the
brand to evaluate new designs and concepts thoroughly. This
requires allocation of most parts of the vehicle in an early stage
of product development – everything from wheel covers and door
handles to radiator grills. Traditional methods, such as molding
and milling, are commonly used to create and replicate new designs.
However, the use of plastics 3D printing has become an integral
part of the automotive design process at the Audi Pre-Series
Center, enabling the team to overcome limitations of conventional
processes and accelerate design verification.
In the case of tail light covers, the team traditionally used
milling or molding to produce individual parts. The main challenge
with these production techniques are the multi-colored covers of
the tail light housing. These individual color parts must be
assembled, as they cannot be produced in one-piece. This
time-intensive process increases lead times for design verification
and subsequently delays time-to-market.
Ultra-realistic color, multi-material prototyping accelerates
design
Streamlining the process, the Audi Plastics 3D Printing Center
will use Stratasys’ J750 full-color, multi-material 3D printing.
This will enable production of entirely transparent, multi-colored
tail light covers in a single print, eliminating the need for its
previous multi-step process. With over 500,000 color combinations
available, the team can 3D print transparent parts in multiple
colors and textures that meet the stringent requirements of the
Audi design approval process.
“Design is one of the most important buying decisions for Audi
customers, therefore it’s crucial we adhere to supreme quality
standards during the design and concept phase of vehicle
development,” explains Dr. Tim Spiering, Head of the Audi Plastics
3D Printing Center. “As a result, we need prototypes to have exact
part geometries, no distortion and extremely high quality, as well
as true-to-part color and transparency. The Stratasys J750 3D
Printer will offer us a significant advantage, as it allows us to
print the exact textures and colors our design defines. This is
essential for getting design concepts approved for production. In
terms of 3D printing transparent parts, I have not seen a
comparable technology that meets our standards.”
“Using the J750 for the prototyping of tail light covers, we
will be able to accelerate our design verification process,”
continues Spiering. “We estimate time-savings of up to 50 percent
by using this 3D print technique in our prototyping process of tail
light covers.”
Dr. Spiering and his 24-member team are responsible for
providing all plastics 3D printing expertise, advice and production
at Audi. Having invested in its first Stratasys FDM 3D Printer in
2002, the division has since grown its portfolio to ten polymer 3D
printers, including a range of Stratasys FDM and PolyJet 3D
Printers.
Andy Middleton, President EMEA, Stratasys, concludes: “Audi is a
prime example of how our unique full color, multi-material 3D
printing technology can combine several design processes into one,
rapidly accelerating development cycles. If you extend the
time-savings achieved by Audi on the tail lights to other parts of
the vehicle, the overall impact on time-to-market can be huge.
We’re excited to see how Audi continues to leverage our FDM and
PolyJet technologies into new application areas to further increase
efficiencies across its development process.”
Stratasys is a global leader in additive technology
solutions for industries including Aerospace, Automotive,
Healthcare, Consumer Products and Education. For nearly 30 years, a
deep and ongoing focus on customers’ business requirements has
fueled purposeful innovations — 1,200 granted and pending additive
technology patents to date — that create new value across product
lifecycle processes, from design prototypes to manufacturing tools
and final production parts. The Stratasys 3D printing ecosystem of
solutions and expertise — advanced materials; software with voxel
level control; precise, repeatable and reliable FDM and PolyJet 3D
printers; application-based expert services; on-demand parts and
industry-defining partnerships — works to ensure seamless
integration into each customer’s evolving workflow. Fulfilling
the real-world potential of additive, Stratasys delivers
breakthrough industry-specific applications that accelerate
business processes, optimize value chains and drive business
performance improvements for thousands of future-ready leaders.
Corporate headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel.
Online at: www.stratasys.com,
http://blog.stratasys.com and LinkedIn.
Stratasys and FDM are registered trademarks, and PolyJet, J750
and the Stratasys signet are trademarks of Stratasys Ltd. and/or
its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
Attention Editors, if you publish reader-contact information,
please use:
- USA 1-877-489-9449
- Europe/Middle East/Africa
+49-7229-7772-0
- Asia Pacific +852 3944-8888
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180607005410/en/
Stratasys Corporate & North
AmericaCraig.Librett@stratasys.com+1 518 424
2497orJoe.Hiemenz@stratasys.com+1 952 906 2726orEurope, Middle
East, and AfricaIncus MediaJonathan Wake / Miguel
Afonsostratasys@incus-media.com+44 1737
215200orGreater China, Southeast Asia, ANZ, and
IndiaAlison.Yin@stratasys.com+ 86-21-33196051orJapan and
KoreaAya.Yoshizawa@stratasys.com+81 3 5542 0042orMexico,
Central America, Caribe and South
AmericaYair.Canedo@stratasys.com+52 55 4169
4181orBrazilGP
CommunicationsCaio.Ramos@GPcom.com.brNando@GPcom.com.br+55 (11)
3129 5158
Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2024 to Oct 2024
Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2023 to Oct 2024