Honda
Honda has opened up about its use of metal 3D printing.
The Japanese automaker says it is working across a variety of mobility fields where it ‘expects’ to deploy additive manufacturing, including automobiles, motorcycles, power products, motorsports and aerospace.
In a blog post and promotional video shared earlier this week, Honda says it is working with metal powder bed fusion to ‘add new value to manufacturing processes and products,’ recognising its potential for ‘unprecedented innovative forms’ and the ability to do away with traditional lengthy moulding workflows. The company says it is building its in-house capabilities to ensure optimal parameters and efficiencies with deformation prediction simulation technology and rigorous monitoring and testing.
Sharing two application examples, Honda detailed how metal AM was used to produce parts of the power unit inside an F1 race car. 3D printed pistons and turbine housings were said to have helped propel the Red Bull Group team to victory back in 2020 while ‘significantly reducing costs and production time.’ The vehicle’s original aluminium piston was replaced with a stronger iron 3D printed version to withstand an increase in combustion pressure while delivering a lighter component with an optimised additive design. The turbine housings, originally made with casting, were printed in Inconel.
Learn more from Japan's definitive AM and industrial 3D printing event: TCT Japan
Honda also shared how the technology has been deployed in the production of lightweight aluminium handles for racing wheelchairs. Using topology optimisation software, they were able to create customised handles with a mesh grip effect designed to suit the athletes’ individual needs while also ensuring safety and removal of weight where unnecessary.
Japanese manufacturers appear to have been ramping up their investment in AM technologies over the last 12 months. Previously considered a slower adopter of 3D printing compared to the U.S., Europe and China - despite its links to the technology's origins - recent moves from the likes of Nikon Advanced Manufacturing, which opened a new Additive Manufacturing Technology Center in Saitama this month (not to mention Nikon's huge takeover of SLM Solutions back in 2023), and Subaru, which used HP's Multi Jet Fusion to produce parts for its BOOSTGEAR concept car, signify an increasing openness to sharing AM adoption success stories from Japanese manufacturing heavyweights.
