General Motors has been flirting with 3D printing for about 30 years. Now, it’s ready to commit to the process.

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On December 14, GM announced plans to open a dedicated 3D printing facility in Detroit. The company believes this center will help it save time and money during the development and production process. GM isn’t the only major automaker buying into 3D printing — and for car buyers, that’s going to mean more customization and personalization options in the future.

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GM’s new 3D printing center will feature two dozen printers capable of creating 3D printed car parts out of polymers and metals. The automakers plans to rely heavily on these 3D printers during the prototyping phase of car development — when it used 3D printing to develop the brakes for a recent vehicle, it was able to slash costs by 60% and cut nine weeks of development time. GM also plans to use the 3D printers to create the tools needed to make its vehicles. That’s another proven application — it recently saved two months by using 3D printing to create hand tools for a factory rather than manufacturing them the traditional way. Starting in […]

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