In the next three decades, the automotive industry will witness vehicle manufacturers build at least 4 billion cars.
The number is staggering; when we consider the impact this would have on energy resources and the environment, the effort required seems mammoth.
Introducing hybrid and electric drivetrains is a viable solution for reducing a vehicle’s carbon footprint during operation. However, vehicle and fuel manufacturing processes adhered to during the production of end systems often have a greater impact on the environment than the product itself.
To address this conundrum, leading automakers are looking toward additive manufacturing processes as a means to achieve greener outcomes on the assembly line and subsequently, on the road.
Here’s how prominent automakers are going all out to secure not only their future but also preserve the resources to avert the impeding danger of eco-depletion:
Divergent Microfactories (DM), offering disruptive approach to auto-manufacturing, has introduced advanced manufacturing process to obtain greener results in automobile manufacturing.
The process first dematerializes cars by efficiently reducing the amount of materials required to produce a sturdy vehicle. The second goal is to democratize the process, or let smaller engineers and designers take charge of the designing and building processes.
For this, DM is gearing to set up smaller facilities that would save it from incurring billions of dollars’ worth expenditure on machineries with predetermined product results. These ‘microfactories’ will exhibit the capacity of building 10,000 cars a year for local customers.
The first of DM’s microfactories produced a car prototype featuring a 100-lb chassis that weighs only about one-tenth of a regular car. However, the facility didn’t compromise the features of the prototype for its compact design.
The prototype showcases impressive specifications and releases only a third of emission produced by an electric car. The facility was able to manufacture the prototype at 1/50th of the regular capital cost incurred for building a car in an expansive factory.
The prototype has twice that of a Bugatti Veyron’s power-to-weight ratio and accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in about 2 seconds. The framework of the car is strong enough to support a 700-hp internal combustion engine and is believed to have stronger chassis than traditional vehicles.
With this novel manufacturing technique, DM gives its engineers the liberty to be creative and brainstorm innovations, while saving time, money and enhancing overall vehicle performance.
Ford Motors introduces new models in its quest for making transport greener.
The idea of getting cleaner vehicles on road is not limited by the ability to make cars that run on alternative fuels, but it also relates to where and how these vehicles are manufactured.
Ford’s new model will allow engineers to build cars locally and in small numbers. This will help the company do away with manufacturing bottlenecks from the grass root levels, thereby creating ample opportunities to reduce emission of greenhouse gases by vehicles or during their production.
Ford mainly uses 3D printing to quickly produce vehicle prototypes using less energy. By using the technology in the prototypes phase, Ford engineers are allowed to iterate through designs without switching equipment.
Engineers can build custom tools within hours using 3D printing. The technology allows to design components with strategically placed internal pockets that reduce the weight of the vehicle as well as the amount of materials used to build it. The process, therefore, reduces the energy used in production and creates more favorable footprints for cleaner technologies.
Local Motors, a leading vehicle innovation company, inaugurates its second micro-factory in Las Vegas, the first one being located at Phoenix.
Local Motors’ micro-factories can build specialized products in low volumes by commissioning innovative design and employing advanced manufacturing techniques.
These units use additive manufacturing to realize crowd-sourced designs, created from the scratch to end by an online community comprising nearly 60,000 users from across 130 countries. Local Motors leverages the novel methodology to make products that fit perfectly with local needs.
The idea behind launching these microfactories is to allow more flexibility in operations and ensure adoption of cleaner fuels.
Local Motors’ microfactory at Las Vegas has a total of 16 3D printers that help the company to realize the diverse design tailored by its online community. Incorporation of 3D printing into manufacturing helps the company to skin costly processes.
These small units of large companies dispersed across several locations allow auto-makers to capitalize on innovation. Using 3D printing technologies, the big names in the auto-industry are able to strike a balance between operating efficiencies and green goals. It is only a matter of time before other auto majors join the ranks of these innovators.
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Filed Under: 3D printing • additive manufacturing • stereolithography, Industrial automation
