Rivian and Ford are expanding their use of 3D printing in manufacturing, according to a CNBC report from a tour of Rivian's operations in suburban Detroit.
Rivian has spent more than $5 million on 3D-printing machines, and its materials costs for the operations have grown to about $1.7 million annually. Jared Beck, head of Rivian's additive manufacturing, said the machines typically pay for themselves within a year. He said the technology lowers supplier tooling costs, streamlines logistics and cuts production times for parts from weeks to days, if not hours. "We're going to be democratizing 3D printing for the entire company," Beck said.
Rivian is adding machines that can build flexible silicone parts. It also plans a bay of machines at its Normal, Illinois, plant so employees can print parts on demand.
Ford has used 3D printing at many of its plants. It operates a vending machine for 3D-printed parts used in F-150 production near its Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters. Gregory Foresi, a Ford mechanical engineer who ran the company's 3D-printing lab at the plant from 2024 until last month, said the vending machine keeps team leaders supplied. Ford said it expects to have 3D labs at more than 23 plants by the end of this year, and its current program has more than 200 machines.
General Motors uses 3D-printed parts for some low-volume products, research and development, and plant work. The report says GM uses 135 3D-printed components in its Cadillac Celestiq.
Fadi Abro, senior global director of automotive and mobility at Stratasys, said GM shows how companies can "standardize and then scale" 3D printing.