BMW/ExOne
ExOne and BMW have revealed how the latter is using the former’s binder jet 3D printing technology.
Having worked together since 2002, BMW operates four of ExOne’s Exerial sand 3D printers, with two additional ExOne machines slated for installation in the future.
BMW runs the machines at its Landshut Light Metal Foundry, which is the automotive company’s largest plant for casted components with more than 3 million parts, such as cylinder heads, manufactured annually. This facility is considered a lightweighting centre of excellence due to the focus on intelligently designing components for performance and fuel efficiency.
At the Landshut facility, BMW relies on ExOne’s binder jet technology for the final production of 6-cylinder water jacket cores for the B58 engines that are used in its M3 and M4 Series of cars. In the manufacturing process for these components, ExOne’s Exerial printers are used to produce complex cores, with BMW using an inorganic binder that is said not to emit odour or emissions during the metal casting process. Once the cores are printed, molten aluminium is injected into the tools, with the final hardened part meeting BMW’s requirements.
“The final product delivered with our digital production process is a sophisticated and trusted blend of old and new technologies that lays the blueprint for a new manufacturing future,” commented Eric Bader, Managing Director of ExOne, a Desktop Metal company. “Together, BMW and ExOne are demonstrating how binder jet 3D printing can be used for sustainable serial production with less waste, more intelligent design and virtually no emissions.”
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