Automotive Additive Manufacturing (Cost Calculator)

Additive Manufacturing for Automotive Parts

Fathom is a provider of additive manufacturing services for quick turnaround automotive prototypes and production manufacturing. Automobile manufacturers are faced with major challenges including energy efficiency and the reduction of CO² emissions. Increased demands for customization result in the need for automotive manufacturers to embrace additive manufacturing for low-volume production.

Additive manufacturing, especially metal 3D printing, provides a new approach to the current challenges facing the automotive industry. It offers design freedom while allowing the creation of complex yet lightweight components.

Automotive additive manufacturing enables the production of components without the need for tools, thereby cutting development and production costs. The reproducible additive process results in parts that can be installed directly in serial production vehicles.

With additive manufacturing, automobile manufacturers can increase the efficiency of their research and development, enabling them to get their vehicles to market quickly.

DMLS Parts in As Soon As Three-Days / / Get A Quote

Automotive Applications / /

Engine Parts //
3D printing technology can reduce engine production costs without compromising performance or reliability.

Battery Housings //
Custom enclosures can be easily manufactured for custom vehicle applications and racing.

Cooling Systems //
Additive allows for custom sizes and shapes. Custom internal channels can alter the flow of coolant for different cooling applications.

Lightweight Hinges & Brackets //
Hinges and brackets can be designed, produced and installed as integrated components.

Heat Exchangers //
Serial production of high-end, weight-optimized components for automotive applications.

Gears //
Reducing the mass of moving components is especially important since this directly enhances energy efficiency.

Most Common Automotive AM Process / / DMLS

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) also known as Metal 3D Printing and Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM) is an additive layer technology. A metal 3D printer utilizes a laser beam to melt 20-60 micron layers of metal powder on top of each other. Powdered metal is spread across the entire build platform and selectively melted to previous layers. This additive process allows complex metal parts to be grown out of a bed of powdered metal.

DMLS is perfect for projects that require design freedom and rapid parts. Parts with undercuts, draft angles, cavities, tooling, jigs, rotors, fixtures and impellers are some of the pieces that can be made using DMLS. Additionally, multiple pieces such as mountings, sectioned parts and fasteners can be streamlined into a single part. DMLS has been particularly advantageous to the automotive industry, because it allows parts to be produced that were previously impossible to traditionally manufacture.