3-D Printing: Opportunity Takes Shape in Manufacturing

Ford Motor Co. is experimenting with a new form of 3-D printing that it says could resolve a flaw that has kept the technology from widespread use in manufacturing.

In 3-D printing, or additive manufacturing, successive layers of material are formed under computer control to create an object. The use of the technology in assembly plants would drastically reduce transport and logistics costs for the auto industry, but the most widely used version is ill-suited for mass production. Objects are printed layer by layer, which is a slow process that also creates tiny fault lines that can crack when stressed.

But, a startup backed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google Ventures is developing a different 3-D printing method that some manufacturers, including Ford, say shows more promise. Carbon3D Inc.’s printers project light continuously through a pool of resin, gradually solidifying it onto an overhead platform that slowly lifts the object up until it is fully formed.

The process takes a fraction of the time of other printing methods and forms solid items more similar to those created using conventional auto-part molds, said Ford.

Carbon’s technology isn’t likely to find its way to the factory floor soon. Its method is too costly to be used on a large scale. Experts say manufacturers are more likely to deploy 3-D printers for high-margin or customized products, such as parts for airplanes or prosthetic limbs.

Source: Wall Street Journal S