World Industrial Reporter

Innovation Delivered Daily

  • Innovation
    • Innovation Article Archive
    • Innovative Companies
    • Innovation Strategies
    • New Equipment Innovations
  • New Products
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Markets
    • Market Trends
    • Tradeshow Reports
    • White Papers
  • Logistics
  • Newsletters
World Industrial Reporter » Additive Manufacturing » 3D Printers Help Opel Slash Assembly Tool Production Costs

3D Printers Help Opel Slash Assembly Tool Production Costs

November 19, 2015

opel-3d-printing

Stratasys 3D printers are helping Europe’s third-largest automotive manufacturer, Opel, to slash manufacturing tool production costs by up to 90%.

The printers have also helped Opel to create 3D printing assembly tools in less than 24 hours.

According to Stratasys’ blog, Opel’s International Technical Development Center has been 3D printing a range of manufacturing and assembly tools to advance the production of its iconic ‘Adam’ hatchback car. These assembly tools are used to precisely attach different components to the car, such as: the rocker molding and roof spoilers; aligning the iconic ‘Adam’ lettering on the rear-side window; and assembling the glass and retractable roofs.

“Besides the cut in tool production time and considerable cost reductions, customized tools are a third important benefit achieved with 3D printing. We are now able to produce more complex shapes than we could via conventional manufacturing. This crucially allows us to adapt the tool to the worker and the specific car,” says Sascha Holl, a Virtual Simulation engineer at Opel’s Tool Design section.

Since Opel 3D prints its own manufacturing tools, the car maker is free to utilize its assembly-line workers in the design process. This allows operators to evaluate concepts, using their experience to highlight any potential issues before committing to the production of the final assembly tool for each specific car component.

Any required design changes to the Opel manufacturing tools are easily accommodated in a matter of hours, eliminating costly iterations further along the production process, thanks to Stratasys’ 3D printers.

“Cases like Opel emphasize the massive impact that low risk, high-reward 3D printed parts – such as manufacturing tools – can have on production efficiency,” says Andy Middleton, President, Stratasys, EMEA. “The capability to produce such items on-demand at a reduced costs can significantly accelerate time-to-production and give businesses that competitive edge. Combine that with the ability to customize tools efficiently, as well as create complex geometries, and you can see why Opel is indicative of the way in which additive manufacturing is transforming our customer’s production operations.”

Quotes, image and video by Stratasys

Share on

Filed Under: Additive Manufacturing, Innovation

Metal Technology to 3D Print Rocket Engine Parts for NASA
Novel Desktop-Sized 3D Printer to Eliminate Bottlenecks in PCB Development
Read Original Article
Avatar

About Doug Lee

Doug has over 30 years tracking and reporting on new products and services introduced by industrial companies from around the world.

Follow me
Suppliers

State-of-the-Art Draw-Wire Displacement Sensors

wireSENSOR WPS-K100 draw-wire sensors measure displacements and distances in industrial environments. Their robust and modular design combined with an excellent price-performance ratio make them ideal for OEM and series applications. The sensors are used in mobile machines, cranes and lifting technology.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Flexible Coaxial Cable Assembly for Microwave Applications

Flexible coaxial cable assembly for microwave applications up to 145 GHz DC. The assembly’s low attenuation and reflectance makes it suitable for long-product and armor processing specifications, while maintaining compatibility with various coaxial connector and narrow-pitch multipole coaxial connection system standards.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Levitating, Contactless and Intelligent

With XPlanar, Beckhoff enables new degrees of freedom in product handling: Levitating planar movers float over individually arranged planar tiles. The result: maximum flexibility in product transport, increased plant output and efficient production with batch size 1 in all industries.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

High Accuracy, Non-Contact, Absolute Linear Sensor

Santest Model GY series are high accuracy, non-contact, absolute type linear sensors employing magnetostrictive, Wiedemann effect. An ultra-sonic wave generated by a moving magnet near a magnetostrictive wave-guide on which the sonic wave propagates to the head of the transducer.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Subscribe

Get the latest WIR reports straight to your inbox.

Free Newsletter Subscription

Find us on the social web.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
FREE NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

Get the latest WIR reports straight to your inbox.

  • Innovation Article Archive
  • Innovation Strategies
  • Innovative Companies
  • New Products
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Market Trends
  • Tradeshow Reports
  • White Papers
  • Logistics
  • Newsletters
  • Fun Stuff
  • Industry Links
Follow us

© 2021 Thomas Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site you agree.OkRead more