Volkswagenhas reiterated its commitment to metal 3D printing for the automotive sector with an announcement that together withGKN和HP，在HP金属喷气系统上生产了10,000个金属零件。
The HP Metal Jet 3D printing system was used to produce miniature models of the new ID.3 electric vehicle for marketing purposes.
The €30,000 ID.3 entered series production on November 4th 2019. Germany’s Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel watched the first vehicle roll of the assembly line at the Zwickau plant in Central Germany. Once fully operational in 2021 the $1.33 billion plant will produce 330,000 electric vehicles every year as part of Volkswagen’s “global electric offensive.” The company states the Zwickau factory will be the “largest and most efficient electric car plant in Europe.”
To date,Volkswagen has incurred fines of $49 billion对于2015年的排放丑闻（又名Dieselgate），并希望Zwickau及其电动攻势等植物能够为这项活动进行某种方式。
VW Group anticipates annual sales of 22 million electric vehicles by 2028 and CEO Herbert Diess says the company will be “climate-neutral by 2050.”
A three-phase strategic roadmap
尽管金属喷气机上制作的零件最初可能并不重要，但HP渴望强调这是一个重要的里程碑，标志着三相战略路线图的第一步。
Use of HP’s metal 3D printing at Volkwagen will begin with mass customization and cosmetic parts with plans to “integrate Metal Jet printed structural parts into the next generation of vehicles as quickly as possible and are targeting a continuous increase in part size and technical requirements.” The stated future objective is “soccer-size parts of 50.000 to 100.000 per year.” These 3D printed components are likely to include gearshift knobs and mirror mounts. Additive manufacturing will be deployed in the growing EV sector for the advantages it confers in lightweighting, and HP expects the production of “fully safety-certified metal parts” in the future.
Dr. Martin Goede, Head of Technology Planning and Development, Volkswagen said, “Our vision to industrialize additive manufacturing is quickly becoming a reality with HP Metal Jet, it is a game changer for the automotive industry. The pace of innovation by HP and advanced capabiltiies of the technology have exceeded our expectations. We are meeting our milestones and are actively identifying and developing functional parts for production.”
Tim Weber, Global Head of Metals, HP 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing said, “A digital transformation in the auto industry is underway and Volkswagen is leading the way with strategic vision and bold action. We are committed to delivering the capabilities our customers need to accelerate the design and production of high quality final parts with breakthrough economics. Together with Volkswagen and partners like GKN we are standing up the factories of the future.”
HP Metal Jet will not available to a wider user base until 2021, but early access partner Volkwagen is satisfied with what they have seen. “We are extremely pleased with the technical features and the speed, quality and low-cost per part that HP Metal Jet has provided. The surface quality and feature resolution enabled great attention to detail and made it possible to add a special touch to this important company milestone,” said Dr. Goede.
Putting the brakes on?
关于HP金属喷气机的最初杂音始于2017年10月。
正如我们当时报道的金属3D打印过程将基于金属注入成型（MIM）粉末。一年后，惠普确认就是这样，并且HP Metal Jet pricingwould be “under $399,000.” The lengthy gap between announcing the product and general availability in 2021 follows a similar strategy to the introduction of the company’s polymer-based Multi Jet Fusion systems. Observers have noted that such a strategy can be useful in freezing the market, leading to buyers to defer the immediate purchase of alternative 3D printing systems until they have a better understanding of the forthcoming machine.
Understandably, such tactics have generated some frustration in the 3D printing industry. However, an optimistic way to view the situation is that HP’s involvement in metal 3D printing will raise the overall profile of the technology. This may, in turn, benefit companies who are already active in the sector, orfurther along the development path。
例如，Digital Metal,ExOne,桌面金属， 和start-up Trio Labsare just some of the 3D printing companies with MIM based technology. Other established additive manufacturing companies also continue to develop new metal 3D printing technology, for example,Stratasys分层冶金。
With the year’s largest 3D printing event just weeks away, it is not unreasonable to expect the list of alternative technologies to grow.
The 3D Printing Industry will be heading to Frankfurt for Formnext 2019, so get in contact if you’d like to meet.
Subscribe to the3D打印行业newsletter, like us onFacebook并跟随我们Twitterfor all the latest 3D bioprinting news.
访问3D Printing Jobsfor new opportunities in additive manufacturing.
特色图片显示HP Metal Jet 3D打印机在IMTS 2018上。迈克尔·皮奇（Michael Petch）的照片。
