In 3D Science Valley’s “6-fold growth in 5 years! Faced with the revolutionary changes in electric vehicles, are you ready for 3D printing?” mentioned in the article that the electric vehicle market is welcoming a quantum leap from quality to quality. Aachen University predicts that the annual output of electric vehicles is expected to reach 4.1 million units (about 4% of the automotive market) by 2020, 24.9 million units (about 22% of the automotive market) by 2025, and 5040 by 2030. Million (about 42% of the automotive market). But for the five years from 2020 to 2025, the increase will be six times.

 

With the publication of this article, although in another article "Get 7000 electric vehicle orders through XEV's initial creation, look at the historical business opportunity for 3D printing", the application integration points that can be achieved in the current domestic 3D printing are described. 3D Scientific Valley has received a lot of feedback from the industry, basically revolving around how 3D printing can play a role in the field of electric vehicles. In this issue, we understand the combination of 3D printing technology and electric vehicle manufacturing with the mass production of the i8 Roadster electric vehicle that BMW will implement in Leipzig.

Lightweight implementation

 

Push 3D printing into industrialization

 

The BMW i8 Roadster First Edition was officially unveiled at the 2018 North American Auto Show. The new car is the world's first plug-in hybrid two-seater convertible, with a pure electric range of 53km and a limit of 200 units.

In terms of appearance, BMW i8 Roadster First Edition will use a brand new metal electroplating paint, while the headlamps have also adopted a new design, and replaced with a new five-wheel rim.

 

The open time of the new car's convertible system is about 15 seconds, and it can be operated at a speed of no more than 50km/h. It is equipped with a new 20-inch wheel and four different lightweight wheels are also available. The convertible version is also distinguished from the Coupe version by attaching the "Roadster" nameplate to the body.

In the interior, the design of the center console of the new car has become more concise, and the upgraded iDrive infotainment system will be adopted. Built-in BMW Cloud Connect and central control gesture control system, and 5 different driving modes can be selected through the eDrive system. Including COMFORT in mixed output mode, SPORT, ECO PRO and COMFORT or ECO PRO mode in pure electric mode.

 

In terms of safe driving, the BMW i8 Roadster is equipped with adaptive cruise and driving assistant systems including the Surround View, which enables semi-automated driving through systems such as the city's pre-collision system, pedestrian warning, and front and rear car distance warning systems.

 

In terms of power, the BMW i8 Roadster is still equipped with a plug-in hybrid system that uses upgraded and retuned 1.5T engine and motor components to achieve a total output of 406 hp, 46 hp more than the current BMW i8. The new car 0-100km/h acceleration time only takes 4.6 seconds. It is reported that BMW i8 Roadster pure electric range is 53km, slow charge can be completed within 4.5 hours, fast charge can be completed within 3 hours.

 

What is worthy of the 3D printing industry is that lightweight brackets made with powder bed metal 3D printing technology have entered the mass production area with the mass production of the i8 Roadster.

 

Metal additive manufacturing has been around for more than 10 years. BMW started using this technology in its early days. Inside the BMW Group, there are experts with over a decade of experience in metal printing. Early experience mainly focused on design verification, functional testing, and these early accumulations of know how also contributed to BMW's entry into small series production.

According to 3D Science Valley, not only metal 3D printing, BMW also introduced Carbon and HP's equipment. After accumulating enough application experience, these plastic 3D printing is also expected to be pushed into the production field.

 

It is not just BMW's electric vehicles that bring opportunities for 3D printing to industrial applications. Recent popular news includes Geely’s stake in Mercedes, and Great Wall Motor’s cooperation with BMW, and Weilai’s automobile will be built in Jiading, Shanghai. The factory, these are all carried out around the layout of the electric car.

 

According to Gasgoo.com, the National Development and Reform Commission approved 15 new energy vehicle companies, including BAIC New Energy, and BAIC New Energy’s 2017 transcript was 103,199 vehicles, an increase of 98% year-on-year. It was the first domestic company to produce more than one hundred thousand cigarettes each year. The pure electric car prices. Other homes include Changjiang Automobile, Future Automobile, Chery New Energy, Minan Automobile, Wanxiang Group, Jiangling New Energy, Jinkang New Energy, Guoneng New Energy, Yundu New Energy, Lanzhou Zhidou, Henan Suida, Zhejiang Hezhong, and land Ark, Jianghuai Volkswagen.