8 DECEMBER 2024IN MYPINIONIN MYPINIONAuto companies have traditionally relied on the engines they created and the styling of their cars for brand value; research and development around engines was one of the core tenets of the established car business. But with electric vehicles, that is all changing. The car industry is going through the biggest transformation since it was founded more than a hundred years ago.EVs Increasing Demand for Additive ManufacturingWith the move to electric vehicles, each car company must re-architect its entire fleet from internal combustion engines to EVs. It's not just taking the engine out and replacing it. It requires a redesign from the ground up; it's a completely new vehicle platform. The fact that you don't have a huge water-cooled, pollution-generating motor in the middle of the car affects the entire design of the car -- including the cabin.This shift to EVs will also increase the demand for 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing). Here is why.EVs are a new market segment, and the adoption curve is not immediate. In general, the unit volumes for EVs are much smaller -- typically a fraction of the volume of cars with traditional engines. So instead of making two million or five million of a particular model, an automaker will only make 100,000 or By John Dulchinos, President, GKN AdditiveAUTO PRODUCTION IS UNDERGOING A SEISMIC SHIFTJohn Dulchinos
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