A LinkedIn post concerning BMW’s new Gen6 electric engine at the IAA Mobility (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung) show in Munich has made a lot of people speculate if it was made with 3D printing.Some wondered if, in fact, the engine was additive, while others assumed that it was made through 3D printing the core using binder jetting with Voxeljet or ExOne.The very topology-optimized looking Gen6 EV Architecture really turned a lot of heads.
But, is it additive? The Gen6 EV Architecture promises 30% quicker charging and 30% more range, with ranges of 900 kilometers on one charge possible.Energy density has been increased by 20%.It is both 400V and 800V compatible.
400 volts is the predominant architecture today in charging and vehicles.800 volts could become the standard of the future, however, since it could provide for even faster charging and perhaps make batteries last longer.High-end cars like the Lucid Air, Porsche Taycan, and other electric sports cars are coming out with 800-volt architectures, meaning that they could be the choice for all the cool kids.
To me, the 800V thing is looking a lot like the Turbo designations of old.It could be a very good way to signal that a car is premium and sportier.In a marketing landscape where everyone is seeking meaning amidst new powertrains and terminology, the 800V is a good thing for BMW to be able to offer within the same architecture.
Having a flexible architecture rather than opting to stay with one or the other could give the company more opportunity to spread out the same unit across more cars and offer more premium models inexpensively.The Gen6 is also lower weight while maximizing interior volume and being easier to service.BMW’s electric engine production.
Image courtesy of BMW.The electric motor itself does not have a permanent magnet, meaning that it will require fewer rare earth elements, which are problematic in terms of price, ethics, and supply chain assurance.That in and of itself seems a brilliant bet in a more fractious world.
We reached out to BMW to determine if the engine was 3D printed or if it used 3D printing.BMW’s Carolin Seidel was quick to get back to us.She works at the brand’s Landshut plant, where at least four ExOne machines reside.
BMW has been working with ExOne for over two decades.She told us that, “companies that we are working with are ExOne, Loramendi, in cooperation with Voxeljet, and Laempe.” Through developing a solution with experienced foundry supply partners such as Loramendi and Laempe, and the binder jet startups, BMW has created a reliable production system for itself.With regards to the engine however, “In the case of the e-motor housing for the Gen6 we are not using 3D printed sand cores, but cores made with a conventional core shooting process and inorganic binders.
However, we do use additive manufacturing for sand cores with a more complex geometry such as the water jacket core of the six- and four-cylinder head variants.We produce close to 4,000 units per day in large-scale series production on 17 printers.Production takes place emission-free and with environmentally friendly inorganic binder systems.” The new thing to note here is that the giant Landshut facility with 3,700 employees has 17 3D printers in operation.
Through relying on multiple partners and integrating solutions intelligently, the firm has given itself redundancy and scale.Given all the recent hoopla with both ExOne and Voxeljet, the redundancy is certainly a smart move.Now we know, of course, that BMW’s setup is not one of a row of boxes but rather a complex integrated system incorporating robots and sensing in a production line.
Another tidbit is the “environmentally friendly inorganic binder systems,” and this may sound initially like some PR fluff.But BMW is very serious about eco-friendly behavior and targets.It’s not just a question of scale.
In European companies, environmental targets are now tied to bonuses and individual performance.In many other markets, greenwashing is more common than actual green behavior, but in Europe, at least, being environmentally friendly matters.If we want to scale with automotive firms, these kinds of standards will have to be adhered to.
And environmental concerns could be a reason to adopt additive manufacturing as well.I know of examples where, in choosing additive technologies and vendors, it was the environmental differentiation that made large companies pick one over the other.Speaking of topology optimization, that bracket is still processing on someone’s FEA cloud.
Image courtesy of BMW.Another thing we should take into account is that we, in 3D printing, kind of think we own topology optimization.If a part looks Geiger-esque or optimized, we will almost automatically assume that it is also made with additive.
We need to realize that for software vendors, the opportunity in optimizing topologies for conventional manufacturing is far greater, immediately, than for optimizing 3D printed parts.There is just so much more experience, installed base, capacity, knowledge, and convention in these parts.It’s much cheaper (and safer) for companies to stay with what they know.
Topology optimization is something that we will be seeing much more broadly in many more parts going forward.But conventionally made topology-optimized parts may actually lead to fewer topology-optimized additive parts.If there is less reason for me to make a switch, I’ll stay with what we know.
We would also be naive if we assumed that the 17 3D printers at Landshut would be subject to increases all the time.For some of the kinds of geometries that they are making right now, 3D printing cores make sense.In the skateboard-like electric vehicle world, other production methods could make a lot more sense.
Here we can see that the new engine has fewer 3D printed parts while the old one uses them extensively.Depending on their needs, clients will flit in and out of additive.BMW’s familiarity and production at scale are good, but they are not wedded to 3D printing forever.
Still, the news that BMW is using several binder jetting vendors and 17 systems for series production should be comforting to us.Producing 4,000 3D printed intermediates daily at a major automotive company is a significant achievement that warrants celebration.Assuming they work around 250 days a year, that’s a million of just these 3D printed sand core parts per year.
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