General Motors has opened a 15,000-square-foot “Additive Industrialization Center”, a facility exclusively dedicated to productionizing 3D printing technology in the automotive industry.

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GM says the AIC is the “capstone” of its expertise and increased investment in 3D printing over the past several years. Audley Brown, GM director of additive design and materials engineering, says: “The core component of GM’s transformation is becoming a more agile, innovative company, and 3D printing will play a critical role in that mission. “Compared to traditional processes, 3D printing can produce parts in a matter of days versus weeks or months at a significantly lower cost.” The comprehensive facility includes 24 3D printers, which create polymer and metal solutions. GM’s additive design and manufacturing team leverages a number of processes at the AIC, including selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, multi-jet fusion and fused deposition modeling. 3D printed Cadillac V-Series HVAC ducts and electrical harness bracket made at the GM Additive Industrialization Center at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. (Photo by Steve Fecht for General Motors) The AIC is intended to validate additive technologies and applications, with frequent pivots to evolving additive machinery and equipment. GM Ventures and GM R&D are collaborative […]

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