On October 12, 2024, BMW BMW Group claimed to have achieved key breakthroughs in the production process, particularly in the manufacture of robotic fixtures.
BMW's clamping original and automotive assembly parts
The BMW Group further explains that since 1991, they have been committed to utilizing 3D printing technology to drive innovation in automotive manufacturing and production aids. Initially, the technology was only used for the production of individual parts, but its applications have now expanded to include manufacturing tools and work aids, revolutionizing the group's production processes. Today, the technology is not only used to design parts for special models, concept cars, prototypes, racing cars and production models, but also plays an important role in the manufacture of cars and production aids at BMW plants.
Advantages and Applications of 3D Printing Technology
The BMW Group produces more than 400,000 parts per year globally via 3D printing, a figure that highlights the technology's significant advantages in terms of productivity and flexibility. The Additive Manufacturing Park in Oberschleissheim, north of Munich, is the BMW Group's dedicated research and production site, which in 2023 produced more than 300,000 parts via 3D printing, with the remaining parts manufactured by the BMW Group's global production network.
Jens Ertel, head of the BMW Group's Additive Manufacturing Campus, said that the use of additive manufacturing not only improves productivity, but also brings significant environmental benefits. Through 3D printing, BMW is able to quickly, economically and flexibly produce production aids and handling robots that can be adapted to specific requirements and optimized for weight, thus increasing line speeds, reducing cycle times and cutting costs.
BMW uses this 3D printed topology-optimized robotic gripper at its Landshut plant to load CFRP material into the press and remove the finished part
Examples of 3D printing in production
The BMW Group's Landshut Lightweight Structures Technology Center demonstrates specific applications of 3D printing technology in production. For example, they used 3D printing to produce a fixture for the CFRP roof of a BMW M model, which took 22 hours to manufacture and weighed just 150 kilograms, a reduction of around 20 percent compared to conventional manufacturing methods. This not only extends maintenance intervals, but also makes the robotic gripper more durable and resilient.
In addition, the BMW Group used new, lighter grippers. These bionic, topologically optimized robotic components weigh 25 percent less, so that only one robot with dual grippers is needed for CFRP roof production, instead of the previous three. These dual grippers are manufactured in-house by 3D printing at the BMW Group plant in Landshut.
3D Printing in the Body Shop
At its body shop in Munich, the BMW Group uses a bionic robot gripper to clamp and move the entire floor assembly of the BMW i4. This new generation gripper has been further optimized in terms of weight and maximum load and weighs around 100 kilograms (including attachments), which is 30 percent lighter than its predecessor. This compact structure is made of sand casting and aluminum mixed for heavy-duty robots, which saves energy and reduces CO2 emissions.
Fixtures are just one of the ways BMW's 3D printing robots are helping to boost productivity
Innovative Applications for Synera Software
To achieve optimal 3D printing results, the BMW Group uses Synera software (formerly Elise), carefully developed by BMW iVentures.Synera makes it possible to 3D print bionic structures almost one-to-one in accordance with the intended design thanks to its high degree of flexibility by efficiently optimizing existing processes and calculations.
At the BMW Group's Additive Manufacturing Campus, a team of design and construction specialists is constantly comparing various software solutions to identify potential for further optimization. In addition, the BMW Group has developed solutions for 3D printers that manufacture robotic grippers in order to automate the engineering of material structures, allowing for faster and therefore more efficient printing.
Overall, the BMW Group has significantly increased productivity, lowered costs and reduced CO2 emissions through the widespread use of 3D printing technology in production. The application of this innovative technology not only demonstrates BMW's leadership in automotive manufacturing, but also lays a solid foundation for sustainable development in the future.
