Applications drive additive manufacturing use for GM

Detroit — Applications are the driving force behind broadening additive manufacturing’s use in the automotive industry, according to General Motor Co.’s Kevin Quinn.

Quinn, director of additive design and manufacturing, discussed how the Detroit automaker is working on expanding the role and capabilities of additive manufacturing during a presentation at the Rapid + TCT trade show, held May 20-23.

The automotive industry is transforming, he said, and additive manufacturing can, in part, enable GM to reach lofty goals such as zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.

 But the industry is not going to be 3D printing the whole vehicle any time soon, if ever, Quinn said. It’s more about taking a pragmatic approach and setting up processes and procedures to advance additive manufacturing going forward. The strategy also includes driving more use of the technology for production parts and not just prototypes.

“How do you go out and find those applications? And then how do you ultimately — and frankly — challenge our normal processes in how we normally source parts, how we normally do things?” Quinn asked.

GM supports additive manufacturing applications in many ways, he said, with education as a top priority.

 “It’s almost more so about ‘uneducation,’” Quinn said. “Forget how you’ve done things forever. … Give additive manufacturing a chance.”

Quinn also talked about “untraining” employees as a way to enable his team to think differently about how vehicles are designed and manufactured, especially if those vehicles no longer have steering wheels or pedals in the future.

“Don’t think about how you’ve done things for 30 years, 40 years, 50 years. How could we do something better? How could we do something differently to enable this?” Quinn said. “This isn’t just a pipe dream. This is happening now.”

GM is using additive manufacturing to generate value for its business, suppliers and consumers in three application categories: traditional, emerging and transformational.

Traditional applications include 3D printed prototypes for fit, form and function as well as assemblies, tools, jigs and fixtures.

Emerging applications include 3D printed production parts on low-volume vehicle variants or for other low-volume, niche applications such as motorsports, vehicle accessories for personalization and customization, and service parts.

Transformational applications include part performance outcomes that couldn’t be achieved without the use of 3D printing. Quinn pointed to an example of a 3D printed seat bracket that was consolidated from eight pieces down to one. GM’s use of additive manufacturing reduced the supply chain and optimized part performance. The 3D printed seat bracket is 40 percent lighter and 20 percent stronger, though “it’s a very expensive part” and has a long print time, he said.

“That’s the canvas: 30,000-some parts and pieces on every vehicle. What’s the plan and how can additive manufacturing support every one of those parts?” Quinn said.

But to truly take advantage of those 30,000-some applications, the automotive industry has some challenges to tackle if it wants to further enhance opportunities for additive manufacturing.

“Cost is a huge challenge for us,” Quinn said.

Other challenges include the ability to 3D print larger parts and to do so cost effectively, increasing throughput and improving print speeds, minimizing post-processing requirements, automating the  manufacturing process and broadening the spectrum of materials available for use in additive manufacturing such as impact-resistant polymers.

 Solving those challenges will require companies — that includes automakers, suppliers, equipment makers and even software vendors — to build a cohesive network, Quinn said.

“It’s not just us as GM … saying, ‘Thou shall print this.’ We want the supply base coming [up] with ideas,” he said. “We want suppliers to come to us saying, ‘Hey, you really ought to print this because here’s the value we think we can deliver.’ That network is huge, and it’s about navigating the path forward together.”