Computers & Software


“It helps to make a car look more realistic,” says David Hayward, studio operations & projects manager. “We use it to make wheels, and front and rear tail lights.” The company has been using a 3D printing machine for


nearly two years. “It runs every day, and never stops printing apart from


when it’s serviced,” he says. The company installed a second machine, running at


95 per cent, capacity, about a year ago. 3D printing has helped to expand design and manufacturing options at the firm. “Design ideas had always been limited, depending on how


they were going to be manufactured,” says Hayward. “The advent of 3D gives you fewer limits.”


Pºroduction run


Bentley produces 10 times more cars than it did 10 years ago, but Hayward says that 3D printing often makes more economic sense than soft tooling, depending on the size of the production run. In prototyping, the company traditionally makes one-third


scale clay models. Using 3D printing, it also makes one-tenth scale models - for both its own cars, and for competitor vehicles - before it gets to one-third scale. “We can then make design changes very early in the


process and re-cut them within a few days. We’re refining the design of the exterior very early,” he says. Door mirrors, door handles and badges are examples


of components that have been designed with a variety of different finishes, to make things as realistic as possible. At the end of the process, Bentley makes a full-sized model - made variously of clay and other prototyped parts - which can be very realistic. The company made a drivable model for the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, which used rapid prototyping and 3D printing


Grimm tale T


he take-up of 3D printing technologies has been huge. With the industry offering so much to


manufacturers and designers, there is a danger that too much hype could confuse potential users, and prevent them from making informed decisions. “It’s hard to absorb all this information,


and tell fact from fiction,” says Todd Grimm, president of 3D printing consultancy Grimm Associates. “If you can’t tell them apart, that’s unsettling.” He cites recent examples of where the


technology has been over-hyped. Many stories about ‘3D printed planes’ failed to mention the 2050 arrival date, for example. At the same time, the new animated film Paranorman used 3D printing to create the faces of the characters - but this saved no time or money on the production.


extensively. Fully working headlamps were 3D printed, as were grilles, interior parts and the central console. “The one really challenging part was the wheel - which


is multi-spoked and multi-vaned,” he says. “Every vane was made individually by 3D printing.”


Flying high


The aerospace industry has also recognised the benefits of 3D printing, and signalled its long-term aim to embrace the technology further. EADS, which makes Airbus, believes that aeroplanes might be made using enormous, factory-sized 3D printers by 2050. The industry is already investigating the potential for these


technologies: engine manufacturer GE, for example, recently acquired Morris Technologies - which has established itself as a specialist in the production of 3D aerospace parts. Designers and suppliers are also keen to convince the


industry of the benefits of 3D printing. One collaborative UK research project called SAVING - funded by the Technology Strategy Board - has investigated the energy-saving potential of 3D printing over conventional techniques. Early studies did not look entirely promising. “We quickly realised that it is actually very energy-


intensive,” says Mike Ayre, managing director of design agency Crucible Industrial Design, and a member of the project. “There’s no way you could call 3D printing processes ‘green’: it takes a lot of energy to melt titanium with a laser.”


Saving energy


However, Ayre says 3D printing could save energy if used in the right way. “We could use it to save weight, and save energy and money in the long term,” he says. “We just have to accept that the parts themselves will be expensive.” Ayre says that focusing on high volume parts will have the


Grimm says that 3D printing is a key


technology for designers and manufacturers to adopt, but warns they must look carefully at the claims of each system - and each company selling it. “Investigate, observe, listen - and


question everything,” he says. One method is to target low-risk opportunities that are off the critical path. Then, if it fails, it can be treated as a learning experience, he says. For all its promise, there are four


‘negatives’ that still need to be overcome, he says. First, there is no agreed name (is it ‘3D printing’ or ‘additive manufacturing’ or ‘rapid prototyping’?). Secondly, it encompasses a range of separate techniques - from stereolithography to fused deposition modelling. “This makes it seem very wide and very


shallow, which causes confusion,” he says. But there advantages too: it complements high-volume techniques like


“It’s hard to tell fact from fiction,” says Todd Grimm, president of 3D printing consultancy Grimm Associates.


injection moulding; it can make products of huge complexity; it can be very efficient because there are fewer steps involved, and less labour; and its flexibility means that designers can change their designs from one day to the next. ●


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