Nowadays, the application of emerging technologies such as 3D printing in automotive parts, industrial equipment, aerospace and other fields is gradually deepening. After these emerging technologies are applied to traditional industries, they have effectively improved the manufacturing process level of traditional industries.

In recent years, with the improvement of the consumption capacity of urban and rural residents in China, the production and sales of automobiles have also increased year by year, and the entire automobile manufacturing industry has entered a period of rapid development. Under the efforts of automobile manufacturers, the process of manufacturing and manufacturing products in the entire automotive industry is continuously optimized, and the overall design and overall performance of the entire vehicle are constantly improving. In particular, the use of technologies such as 3D printing provides technical support for the establishment of a more modern vehicle production model. For the components of the vehicle, in addition to the tires, engine, steering wheel and other parts, the roof bracket of the car is also an important part of a car, which can not be ignored for the optimization of the overall performance of the car.

Production of automotive brackets with 3D printing is becoming a trend

In general, the car's brackets are divided into two types, one is the torque bracket, and the other is the engine foot rubber. These two kinds of brackets mainly play a role in stabilizing the vehicle body, reducing vibration and ensuring the smooth running of the vehicle during the driving process of the vehicle. In addition to these two types of brackets, the roof bracket is also an important type of car bracket, which can play a good role in users traveling by car or traveling in the wild.

According to the specific function, the shelves installed on the top of the car can be generally divided into the roof sports decoration and the roof luggage rack. Among them, the role of the roof sports decoration is to match the body movement, finishing and interior style to create an overall sporty atmosphere. Two chrome-plated or alloy roof brackets are commonly used in the market, and the models with such brackets are generally urban SUVs. In addition, the roof rack is another type of roof bracket. The role of the roof rack is to facilitate the carrying of bulky luggage. Fixing the baggage that meets the weight and volume requirements on the roof rack not only increases the safety of the vehicle form, but also effectively solves the problem of insufficient storage space in the trunk of the car.

Currently, many SUVs, coaches and long-distance buses are loaded with such roof racks. In order to better improve the quality of the roof bracket and optimize the design and manufacture of the roof bracket, many automobile bracket manufacturers began to produce the brackets required by users through technologies such as 3D printing.

3D printing helps to form a new car bracket manufacturing model. According to the traditional mold to produce car brackets, it is often difficult to adapt to actual needs. At present, BMW, GM, Volkswagen, Honda and other car manufacturers are different models. For vehicles with different displacements and performances, the design and function of the torsion bracket, engine foot rubber, and roof bracket are also completely different. In order to make full use of these components, mold production often cannot be matched with many types of vehicles, and the entire production process takes a long time and costs.

In order to change this manufacturing mode, many car manufacturers began to use 3D printing and other technologies to manufacture car brackets to save time, efficiency and safety. 3D printing technology has also created conditions for the automation and intelligent manufacturing transformation of the entire automotive industry. With the 3D printing technology, the manufacturing mode of the entire car has changed a lot compared with the past, and the whole process of manufacturing the automobile bracket is easier. At the same time, many advantages of 3D printing have also emerged.

First, 3D printing shortens the product development cycle. In terms of the design of the car bracket, due to the rapid prototyping characteristics of the 3D printing, the researcher can use the technical advantage to make a conceptual model of the bracket through the computer within a few hours or days. Secondly, 3D printing enables the precise production of the bracket. When the mold is used for the production of the bracket, the precision is often low, which seriously affects the quality of the bracket. Finally, 3D printing can dramatically increase productivity. After the bracket is produced by 3D printing technology, more high-quality products can be produced in a certain period of time.

In addition, through 3D printing technology, the R&D personnel can view the stereoscopic effect printed by the product through the computer equipment at the initial stage of design, which helps the designer to correct the error and further improve the design effect at any time in the early stage, and evade the corresponding effect as soon as possible. The mistakes save manpower and material costs.

The prospect of large-scale application of 3D printing car brackets is expected
With the continuous development of high-tech, some enterprises engaged in automobile production have begun to explore new ways to use intelligent technology to promote the intelligent production of automobile production, which makes it not only verbally produced by using technologies such as 3D printing. It is put into practical use.

In May of this year, GM announced that it is working with design software company Autodesk on 3D printing. It is reported that GM will use Autodesk's newly generated design software to produce 3D printing products in the future, such as manufacturing lightweight components for zero-emission vehicles.

Recently, the German car manufacturer BMW's 2018 BMW i8 Roadster metal 3D printing convertible top bracket product has been well received, and the product won the 2018 Altair Enlighten Award. According to industry analysts, the use of 3D technology to produce convertible roof bracket products is an innovative achievement in 3D printing in the field of automobile manufacturing.

At the same time, the award of the convertible roof bracket products produced by 3D printing technology also affirmed the role of 3D printing technology in the manufacture of parts such as automobile brackets, and realized large-scale application for future metal 3D printing parts. Provides experience for reference.

In the future, with the advancement of technology and the acceleration of the research and development process, the production efficiency of components such as automobile brackets will increase day by day, and the production cost will also decrease. After using 3D printing technology, the manufacturing mode of many auto parts products, including automobile roof brackets, will accelerate the transformation towards intelligence and automation. China's automobile manufacturing industry will also present a new development pattern!