Another dimension: Additive manufacturing - or 3D printing - of prototype parts is nothing new, but could advances in technology and materials see its use extend beyond testing?

摘要

Rifle through the archives at BMW's manufacturing facility in Munich and early signs of additive manufacturing will appear in documents that date back to the early 1990s. Additive manufacturing, or the process of 'upwardly printing' components in specialist materials layer upon layer from CAD documents, has since been adopted by numerous manufacturers in the automotive industry and outside due to its time- and cost-saving potential.