Charlotte Stonestreet
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Peugeot uses 3D printing for car accessories
05 April 2022
PEUGEOT HAS launched a range of car accessories produced using 3D printing technology and a new flexible polymer. Created specifically for the new PEUGEOT 308, this is reported to be the first time that 3D printing technology has been used on car accessories.
The accessories are the result of a joint effort by Peugeot's Design, Product and Research & Development teams in collaboration with HP Inc., Mäder and ERPRO. They are 3D printed using the new HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology. The aim is to offer innovative products that are pleasant to the touch, light, solid and easy to use, and which enhance the interior well-being offered by the 308 and the latest generation PEUGEOT i-Cockpit.
The designers' objective at the start of the project was to create accessories that were visual, innovative, and crafted from modern materials. The range of accessories was drawn up after a detailed analysis of how customers use storage in the car. As traditional materials did not meet the specifications, the "Colours and Materials" team within the Peugeot Design department worked with its partners to develop a more innovative material to suit this purpose. 3D printing was the obvious solution.
3D printing adapts to the needs of an increasingly demanding and unpredictable market; all kinds of customised objects and accessories can be produced without needing expensive moulds and manufacturing tools.
Importantly, 3D printing is better for the environment and as such contributes to the brand’s quest for more sustainable manufacturing processes. Its use is becoming more and more widespread and is revolutionising the manufacturing system across many industries. Indeed, additive manufacturing is becoming an alternative to manufacturing techniques such as injection moulding.
3D printing offers many additional advantages:
- Design freedom: fewer manufacturing constraints means that 3D printing allows greater creative freedom for designers and infinite possibilities for part complexity (due to there being no injection moulding).
- Optimised structures: reduced weight, greater strength, fewer assemblies.
- Agile production: infinite customisation possibilities, mass production with shorter lead times, and no need for storage thanks to "on demand" production.
The technology is constantly evolving, both in terms of the materials used and the production methods; and the production costs just keep going down.
Innovative materials:
In just a few months, the teams have jointly developed a new polymer that has three main advantages:
- Flexibility: a flexible, malleable and robust polymer
- Speed: the manufacturing process is short and made to measure
- Quality of rendering: highly accurate details thanks to very fine molecules
The result of the partnership between HP Inc and BASF is the flexible material Ultrasint thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a material that offers durable, strong and flexible parts. It is a perfect material for impact absorbing parts that require high elasticity and for flexible mesh-like structures. The material can be used to produce parts with a high surface quality and a very high level of detail.
The use of TPU in a car interior is a new approach, which has been patented by the STELLANTIS Group.
PEUGEOT has chosen to use HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology. HP Multi Jet Fusion is a brand new layer-by-layer additive manufacturing technology on a powder bed. PEUGEOT was one of the first to use this technology in the development of the 3D accessories range.
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