The Market for Additive Manufactured Polymer Automotive Parts: Europe and North America Regions
The automotive market is one of the longest-standing users of 3D printing technology, having been one of the first to produce rapid prototypes, then rapid-tooling. Today, a convergence of several technological, market and environmental trends are radically transforming the automotive industry, and 3D printing is being turned to as a critical tool to enable this transformation, from the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) to the drive towards making supply chains more sustainable.
This report from SmarTech Publishing analyzes the future of 3D printing of polymers within the automotive industry through the lens of megatrends that are already having profound effects on the supply chain, design cycles and market strategies of the world’s biggest automakers. By strategically assessing the automotive value chain, this report identifies the areas of opportunity for 3D printing adoption and growth, and forecasts the long term revenue potential for 3D printing hardware and materials within the automotive industry focusing on jigs, tools and end-use parts. This report will be followed by a SmarTech publication of 3D-printed metal parts for the automotive industry.
- Chapter One: Opportunities for AM in the Automotive Industry: A Strategic Appraisal of the Value Chain
- 1.1 AM and the segmentation of the automotive value chain
- 1.1.1 Upstream opportunities: Rapid prototyping and supporting the design process
- 1.1.2 Midstream opportunities: Supporting the manufacture of parts through indirect process support or direct additive manufacture of parts.
- 1.1.2.1 Production support assets
- 1.1.2.2 Low volume production runs
- 1.1.2.3 Customization
- 1.1.2.4 Advanced part designs
- 1.1.3 Downstream opportunities
- 1.1.3.1 Mitigation of obsolescence
- 1.1.3.2 Digital inventory management
- 1.1.3.3 Distributed aftermarket production
- Chapter Two: Impact of Major Automotive Trends on Additive Manufacturing Polymer Adoption
- 2.1 Rise of electric vehicles
- 2.1.1 The effects on the value chain moving from ICE to EV construction
- 2.1.2 Opportunities for AM in EV part and assembly design
- 2.1.3 AM within native EV and mixed EV/ICE assembly lines
- 2.1.4 New entrants enabled by low-volume and flexible additive manufacturing
- 2.2 Autonomous driving technology
- 2.2.1 Opportunities for 3D printing in autonomous vehicle development
- 2.2.2 Mass reduction opportunities for AM
- 2.2.3 How AM can support a mass-reduction strategy
- 2.3 Commitments to decarbonisation, supply chain sustainability and the “race to zero”
- 2.3.1 Reduction of non-recyclable materials and plastics in vehicle design
- 2.3.2 How AM materials and hardware providers can meet the demand for recycled materials
- Chapter Three: Material Assessment for 3D-Printed Polymer Parts in the Automotive Industry
- 3.1 Evolution of materials within AM industry
- 3.1.1 Composite materials
- 3.1.2 Advanced materials
- 3.2 Eight-year materials forecasts
- 3.2.1 Thermoplastic filaments
- 3.2.2 Thermoplastic powders
- 3.2.3 Thermoset resins
- 3.2.3.1 VAT resins
- 3.2.3.2 Jetted resins
- 3.2.4 Distribution material by region
- 3.2.5 Eight-year CAGR
- Chapter Four Polymer 3D-Printing Hardware for the Automotive Industry
- 4.1 Developments in key AM technologies in automotive
- 4.1.1 Powder bed systems
- 4.1.2 Material extrusion
- 4.1.3 VAT systems
- 4.1.4 Material jetting
- 4.2 Eight-year forecast for AM hardware
- 4.2.1 Powder bed systems
- 4.2.2 Material extrusion
- 4.2.3 VAT systems
- 4.2.4 Material jetting
- 4.3 AM hardware sales by region
- 4.4 Eight-year CAGR
- Chapter Five Opportunities by Application
- 5.1 Future of AM for automotive prototyping
- 5.2 Production support parts
- 5.2.1 Types of production support
- 5.2.2 Eight-year forecast for production support
- 5.3 Direct production parts
- 5.3.1 Types of direct AM production parts in automotive
- 5.4 Eight-year forecast for direct production parts
- Acronyms used in the report
- About the author
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