Future Fords May Come Standard With 3D Printed Parts

Most of you have probably heard of 3D printing by now and how efficient it makes the manufacturing process. Well, Ford Motor Company announced this week that it’s testing 3D printing large-scale car parts that would eventually lead to manufacturing more fuel-efficient cars.

Traditional methods of designing parts for prototypes usually take a really long time because even after an engineer designs the part on a computer, it can takes months for prototype tooling to be produced. With 3D printing however, engineers could just print the designed part in a couple of days, with a significant reduction in cost. The weight of the car would also be drastically lighter. For example, a 3D printed spoiler could weigh less than half a cast metal counterpart.

The 3D printing process currently isn’t fast enough to handle high volumes but it will be interesting to see this program unfold in the future.

Source: Jalopnik