The @ElegooOfficial OrangeStorm GIGA is a MASSIVE new 3d printer, and I got to see it IN PERSON at @Formnext in Frankfurt, Germany!▶ https://www.elegoo.com▶ ...
I have no idea what I would do with this but I want one so bad.
That is large enough volume for serious automotive interior parts, like that could make entire center consoles, trim, or inserts, pretty much anything exterior except the bumper covers. I think it really needs to run 2.85mm or 3mm filament and a 1mm+ nozzle by default. Heating that bed will require massive power too.
3D printing at that scale is just too damn slow and prone to failure for serious manufacturing. It’s one thing for prototyping, but it’s not really viable for at scale manufacturing.
There’s a significant cost to making the stamping and casting molds that produce these parts but once they’re made, they can produce dozens of units per hour with minimal waste.
Printing a single bumper would take days. And there would be so much waste on support structures, I would guess must of the material cost is waste.
I work at an automotive OEM. We’ve used large scale 3D printed prototypes for longer than I’ve worked here (~15 years). Most of our prototype parts are SLS nylon. SLS has the benefit of having free/built in supports.
Automotive parts are deceivingly large. Yeah, you could print a lot of parts with this volume but most exterior parts, and a lot of interior parts, would need to get split. For example, the first gen miata, which is a pretty tiny car, has a hood that’s 36" x 41" and 45" long doors.
That is large enough volume for serious automotive interior parts, like that could make entire center consoles, trim, or inserts, pretty much anything exterior except the bumper covers. I think it really needs to run 2.85mm or 3mm filament and a 1mm+ nozzle by default. Heating that bed will require massive power too.
3D printing at that scale is just too damn slow and prone to failure for serious manufacturing. It’s one thing for prototyping, but it’s not really viable for at scale manufacturing.
There’s a significant cost to making the stamping and casting molds that produce these parts but once they’re made, they can produce dozens of units per hour with minimal waste.
Printing a single bumper would take days. And there would be so much waste on support structures, I would guess must of the material cost is waste.
The advantage would be printing rare/hard to find parts, especially for vintage cars.
I work at an automotive OEM. We’ve used large scale 3D printed prototypes for longer than I’ve worked here (~15 years). Most of our prototype parts are SLS nylon. SLS has the benefit of having free/built in supports.
Automotive parts are deceivingly large. Yeah, you could print a lot of parts with this volume but most exterior parts, and a lot of interior parts, would need to get split. For example, the first gen miata, which is a pretty tiny car, has a hood that’s 36" x 41" and 45" long doors.
This isn’t to say that there’s no space for 3D printing in automotive. It could be a good match for lower volume parts or parts that are designed to be 3D printed (most traditional parts aren’t). Another good use case might be spare parts: https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-classic-3d-printer-spare-parts-sls-printer-production-cars-innovative-14816.html
My first thought is bezels for aftermarket radios