During a recent AMUK Members Forum, Luke Fox outlined how 3D printing is being used to enhance luxury car production in the UK.
An Additive Manufacturing Technical Specialist at British automotive firm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Fox outlined the critical role AM plays in the company’s workflow.
Notably, 3D printing is not used for high-volume production of end-use parts. Instead, its value lies in addressing the growing demand for mass customization, while also accelerating the production of functional prototypes for test cars.
The latter represents “the vast majority of the components” JLR makes internally at its Additive Manufacturing Centre (AMC). Fox emphasized the importance of this additive capability, stating that without 3D printing, “we wouldn’t be able to get that testing done as fast.”
The technical specialist also discussed how additive manufacturing is addressing one of the most pressing issues currently facing the automotive industry.
Many automotive sustainability deadlines are fast approaching, with car manufacturers working to minimize their carbon footprint and make their vehicles compliant with environmental legislation. According to Fox, 3D printing will play a vital role in realizing JLR’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions across its supply chain by 2039.
Additive manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover
Additive Manufacturing UK (AMUK) is a trade association for companies operating in Britain’s 3D printing ecosystem. Its most recent Member’s Forum was hosted at aerospace manufacturer GKN Aerospace’s Britsol-based Global Technology Centre.
The event featured presentations on the current state of additive manufacturing in the UK and its future direction. Attendees also had the opportunity to network and enjoy an exclusive tour of GKN’s research and development (R&D) facility.
During his presentation, Fox outlined the global reach of JLR, which boasts three vehicle manufacturing sites in the UK and additional plants in Slovakia, Brazil, China, and India. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, manufactures and markets the Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, and Jaguar high-end vehicle brands.
In 2018, JLR committed to produce one million cars a year. However, Fox explained that the company has since shifted its strategy to prioritise quality over quantity, manufacturing around 400,000 vehicles in 2023.
Additive manufacturing plays a key role in achieving this quality. JLR’s AMC, based at the Gaydon Advanced Product Creation Centre, features 20 industrial 3D printers across six additive manufacturing technologies. These include HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), EOS systems, SLA, FDM, and PolyJet 3D printers.
Polymer powder bed fusion accounts for 87% of the company’s additive manufacturing capabilities. Vat polymerisation makes up 8% of its systems, while material jetting and material extrusion equates to just 3% and 2%, respectively. “At the moment we are only a polymer business internally, we don’t do any metal 3D printing,” added Fox.
The AMC acts as a centre of excellence within the company, serving various roles that range from early design models to functional parts. “The AMC is set up as an internal resource,” explained Fox, with JLR engineers across all divisions able to request 3D printed components.
Additive manufacturing technology has also been integrated across different hubs and departments throughout the business. Engineers at the Halewood facility, one of JLR’s production sites, have about a dozen industrial FDM 3D printers.
Smaller desktop FDM systems are also distributed around other manufacturing and engineering sites. According to Fox, these are used for quick prototyping and testing before coming to the AMC for more complex parts, a decentralized approach that helps maintain agility.
3D printing enhances vehicle development
In the past, JLR has leveraged additive manufacturing for the production of end-use car parts. One notable example is the 2019 Jaguar XE SV Project 8, which incorporated over a dozen AMC-made components. They include the mount for the front number plate, car seat headrest supports, and external aerodynamic features. However, these were low-volume production runs, with only 300 Project 8’s ever made.
A more practical use case revolves around legacy parts. Fox cited a recurring issue with the Land Rover Discovery 2’s seat handles from the 1999 model, a part prone to breaking.
Customers who own this model now expect to be able to order a replacement part from their Land Rover dealership. However, the company that originally made these parts no longer exists, and the injection mold tool has since been lost.
JLR’s solution is to 3D print the parts in-house, slightly altering the geometry for added durability. “We print about 50 of these a year,” stated Fox, with customers often unaware that the replacements have been 3D printed.
Mass customization is another notable application of AM in automotive. “Mass customization is definitely not going away, so we are doing a lot of that,” stated Fox. He noted that JLR is actively working to identify how 3D printing can enable more bespoke components, such as personalized fuel caps and dashboards.
However, the “vast majority” of JLR’s additive manufacturing efforts go towards functional prototyping for test cars. These pre-production vehicles are often wrapped in a vinyl camouflage pattern to hide their design when being exhibited and test-driven in public. Fox stated that 3D printing prototype parts significantly speeds up the testing process, allowing design changes to be made and assessed much quicker than with traditional manufacturing methods.
One surprising post-production example related to a problem impacting Land Rover Defender SUV owners. “When they were getting their dog into the back of the car, the dog was scratching the bumper,” explained Fox.
JLR’s additive manufacturing team responded by 3D-scanning the paws of a dog, analyzing the hardness of the claws, and 3D printed a replica paw that was placed on a robotic arm. This repeatedly scratched a Defender bumper “for a very long time,” leading to the development of a protector strip that can be purchased to minimize damage.
JLR’s metal 3D printing roadmap
According to Fox, JLR will work to further scale its use of additive manufacturing in the future. However, he noted that the firm is focused more on expanding capability than capacity.
A significant part of this development relates to growing its metal 3D printing capabilities. The company has already leveraged external metal 3D printing to produce luxury rear-table components for the Range Rover SV 460.
Made by a tier-1 supplier, around 40 of these end-use parts are produced yearly. “It’s quite a low production item, but it is metal additive in our production vehicles as we speak,” added Fox.
As it scales up, JLR is working to integrate metal 3D printing for more high-volume manufacturing applications. Fox referenced an ongoing project using 3D printing to support the production of “give or take a million parts.”
Initially, the company turned to laser powder bed fusion for its initial proof of concept testing. Next, the team looked to produce “a few hundred” of the metal parts for more rigorous and accurate results. To achieve this, they turned to binder jetting, with metal injection molding (MIM) mooted as the final production technology.
The binder jet 3D printing process reportedly produced parts that are closer to the desired mechanical performance. Fox added that this approach enables more extensive testing and refinement without the high costs of traditional metal manufacturing, which would involve expensive tooling.
Incorporating metal 3D printing into this pre-production phase will reportedly allow JLR to more effectively fine-tune designs before committing to mass production.
Discussing the company’s broader AM strategy, Fox stressed the importance of balancing in-house capabilities with external partnerships. While JLR can prototype and test parts internally, scaling to full production often requires outsourcing to specialized suppliers.
“We’re not set up for high-volume production,” Fox admitted. His “Goldilocks option” involves close collaboration with suppliers on in-house design and testing, and then gradually handing over responsibility as production ramps up.
This model has been mirrored in other automakers, including Lamborghini. According to Fox, the firm initially produced a 3D printed fuel cap in-house, scaling up production before ultimately outsourcing the entire process once it was validated. This approach exploited the benefits of additive manufacturing’s customization capabilities while devolving the mass production process to a third party.
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3D printing: the future of automotive sustainability?
The use of additive manufacturing is growing in the automotive sector, driven by time-sensitive environmental legislation.
For instance, it was recently announced that Italian 3D printer OEM Prima Additive is collaborating with automation and robotics firm Comau to develop a 3D printable brake disc coating. This process can reportedly reduce brake disk degradation-related pollution emissions by 80%, meeting pertinent sustainability targets. the European Union’s (EU) Euro 7 standard requires a 27% reduction in particle emissions from brake discs by the end of 2026.
“One of the levers we can pull to use AM more and more in automotive is that it is more sustainable than other traditional manufacturing processes,” explained Fox.
He called JLR’s 2039 net-zero strategy a “really, really hard thing to do,” but emphasized the company’s commitment to achieve this despite increased costs. “We’re willing to spend more because our customers are willing to spend more on a sustainable option.”
Notably, the Jaguar brand, which currently produces only the F-Pace SUV, is pursuing a complete shift away from fossil fuels. It has committed to delivering a fully electric lineup by next year. All Jaguar vehicles will reportedly be built on a dedicated pure-electric modular architecture.
JLR previously announced plans to invest US$3.5 bn annually through Tata to support the development of new electric models and infrastructure. The brand is also working to develop other renewable energy sources alongside electricity.
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Featured image shows the production line at JLR’s production plant in Nitra, Slovakia. Photo via JLR.
