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<b>COST-CUTTING PROTOTYPE:</b> Chevrolet has used 3D printing to create some updates for its 2014 Malibu. <i>Image: Chevrolet</i>
DETROIT, Michigan - When Chevrolet set out to refresh the interior and exterior of its Malibu models for 2014, designers used one of the most cost-effective and time-saving methods in its tool box.
It's called "rapid prototyping", also known as 3D printing, and is perhaps the death knell for the skilled modellers who produced parts and whole cars in clay.
ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT
The process creates prototype parts out of powder or liquid resin at a fraction of the cost associated with building tools to make test parts.
Selective laser sintering and stereo lithography help accelerate development and evaluation of the Malibu.
Both processes use specialised software, math data and digital lasers, which accomplish in days what would have taken weeks of clay sculpting in the past.
It's called "rapid prototyping", also known as 3D printing, and is perhaps the death knell for the skilled modellers who produced parts and whole cars in clay.
ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT
The process creates prototype parts out of powder or liquid resin at a fraction of the cost associated with building tools to make test parts.
Selective laser sintering and stereo lithography help accelerate development and evaluation of the Malibu.
Both processes use specialised software, math data and digital lasers, which accomplish in days what would have taken weeks of clay sculpting in the past.
