The Bosch Additive Solution Center in Nuremberg, Germany, has printed a full V8 engine block as a single piece on a Nikon SLM Solutions NXG XII 600 machine.
Printed in AlSi10Mg, the technical demonstration represents a 'clear signal that additive manufacturing is moving beyond prototyping and development,' according to Nikon SLM Solutions.
The metal additive manufacturing company believes the successful 3D printing of the engine proves out the technology's ability to enable complex, high-value automotive applications and compete with and complement conventional manufacturing methods.
While additive manufacturing is a fixture of many automotive development centres, Nikon SLM and Bosch have partnered to establish the technology within the industry's tier 1 and 2 supply networks. By providing its additive manufacturing expertise and capability to a tier 1 automation supplier like Bosch, Nikon SLM is aiming to move AM 'from capability to production reality.'
Their collaboration is going beyond a machine installation and will encompass materials, process parameters, design for additive manufacturing, software integration, and further application development.
With the V8 engine block, the partners believe they have made a strong start. By deploying additive manufacturing for the production of the part, they were able to eliminate tooling - and the lengthy lead times associated with it - and move through design iterations more efficiently. With additive manufacturing, the partners also identified opportunities to integrate cooling channels, engineer topology-optimised structures, and consolidate multi-component assemblies, while also reducing weight by placing material 'precisely where structural analysis shows it is needed.'
Off the back of the successful V8 engine demonstrator, Nikon SLM Solutions suggests that additive manufacturing is ready to manufacture critical automotive components.
