General Motors
General Motors has revealed the Cadillac CELESTIQ ultra-luxury electric sedan boasts more than 130 additively manufactured parts.
The automotive company says the precision and flexibility of additive manufacturing makes the technology the 'perfect solution' to create parts for the custom commissioned vehicle. GM says the CELLESTIQ is the highest concentration of additively manufactured parts of any GM product.
Among the CELESTIQ's 3D printed parts are the steering wheel centre and a seat belt adjustable guide loop. The steering wheel centre, which is a trim bezel component that covers the front face of the steering wheel, surrounds the switches and presents a sleek finish, is GM's largest 3D printed production metal part to data. It is also one of only a few production parts created using metal laser powder bed fusion technology.
“We wanted the part to be metal, fitting with the high-end look and feel of the vehicle,” said Brennon White, GM Technical Specialist for Advanced Manufacturing Production Applications. “We looked at multiple options to make this part, and additive won out because it can make a delicate, detailed, and compact part.”
The seat belt adjustable guide loop, meanwhile, was GM's first metal 3D printed safety component and was awarded the Award of Distinction in the Automotive—Electric Vehicle Category for Metal AM components by the Metal Powders Industry Federation.
“None of the finishes we could find met the high-end needs for this outstanding vehicle,” said White of the seat belt adjustable guide loop. “Using additive manufacturing allowed us to consolidate several parts into one continuous piece. Not only is it effortlessly beautiful, but the part is also incredibly strong.”
General Motors
GM also uses 3D printed components in other production vehicles. Cadillac’s V-Series Blackwing models were the first GM production vehicles with 3D printed parts, a unique medallion on the manual shifter knob chief among them. Additive manufacturing is also used throughout GM motorsports vehicles, including by the Cadillac Racing team.
GM’s work on additive manufacturing is based at the Additive Industrialization Center (AIC) in Warren, Michigan, Tech Center campus. Opened in December 2020, this 15,000 sq-ft facility is home to more than 20 additive manufacturing machines.
Most of the 3D printed components in CELESTIQ are initially developed at AIC before GM's supply chain is engaged for production.
“When looking at whether to use additive manufacturing, we ask ‘can it meet the functional requirements, and does it make sense economically?’ If the answer is yes to both, we know we should target AM,” added White. “That’s what we did with CELESTIQ – and additive gave us something that we never could have achieved otherwise.”
