How Rivian, Ford and GM are using 3D printing to cut costs

DETROIT – Automakers included Ford Motor District and Rivian Automotive which leans towards a new type of manufacturing line: 3D printing.

Manufacturers say it helps reduce costs and increase speed. The technology has been around for decades, but has become increasingly commoditized in the automotive industry, with 3D printers used to make everything from vehicle components and accessories to tools for assembly plants and test units for research and development labs.

“At this point, we have no choice but to expand and start using all Rivian fractions,” Jared Beck, Rivian’s head of additive manufacturing, told CNBC during a tour of the expansive 3D printing operation in suburban Detroit. “We will democratize 3D printing for all companies.”

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing can create three-dimensional objects from digital designs by spreading material in layers, just like traditional printers use ink on paper. Instead of ink, the machine uses a variety of materials such as plastic, composites, ceramics and even metal.

Printers can range from hundreds of dollars for hobby-like devices to hundreds of thousands of dollars for special equipment, depending on how big the product is being produced and the materials needed. They can produce individual pieces or hundreds of small parts in batches using powders and resins.

Rivian says it has spent more than $5 million on 3D printing machines, with the cost of materials for the operation rising to $1.7 million a year.

Beck said despite the cost, the machine usually pays for itself within a year. He says the technology helps reduce supplier tooling costs, streamline logistics costs and reduce production times for parts from weeks to days, if not hours.

“It’s also in the million [for savings]but the main thing is speed for Rivian,” said Beck.

The all-electric vehicle company’s latest 3D expansion includes adding a new machine that can make flexible silicon parts as well as installing a machine bay at its factory in Normal, Illinois, so employees can print the parts they want.

“3D printing should be available to every engineer so they can make parts and get their hands on them as soon as possible,” Beck said.

Rivian has also used the technology to model electric motors for fluid testing, create screw guides for tooling and stamping press inserts and some production parts, including cut pieces to fill gaps in some early builds.

There’s a similar push being made at bigger, more established automakers like Ford and its cross-town rivals General Motorswho have been using 3D printing for many years, including in massive assembly plants.

Instead of having 3D printing machines like at Rivian, Ford has additive manufacturing departments in many factories to produce and distribute the necessary parts. That includes a new vending machine for 3D printed parts for F-150 pickup truck production near its Dearborn, Michigan headquarters.

“By setting up a vending machine, all team leaders have access,” said Gregory Forisi, a Ford mechanical engineer who ran Ford’s 3D printing lab at the plant from 2024 until last month. “We can keep that thing instead of having a lot of parts lying around in the lab. So it’s pretty big.”

Forisi uses about two dozen machines to print thousands of tools, some of which have been designed by employees, such as torque sockets, hood jackers and hand tools for smoothing adhesives.

Employees can use the app to request that specific car parts or devices be printed. Ford’s 3D printing team helps develop or determine what to produce next, as machine time to build different parts can range from hours to days, if not weeks.

Forisi says that creating tools with 3D printing has allowed manufacturers to design uniquely when needed, get them faster and, in many cases, receive them at a lower cost.

Ford has also used 3D printed parts to maintain production. For example, Forisi said a large engine wheel is needed to maintain the production of the assembly line and the company can 3D print parts until a permanent replacement from the supplier is available.

“They’re not doing well, and they’re not a replacement for what they bought, but the plant is still running,” Forisi said.

Ford says it will have 3D labs installed in more than 23 factories by the end of this year. The 3D-printing program now has more than 200 machines, and there are additional printers outside of the official program, the company said.

GM has used 3D printed parts for a number of low-volume products in addition to research and development and inside plants, including recently developing the use of an industrial Stratasys printer that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars based on use cases, training and certification.

The Detroit automaker used 135 3D-printed components for the bespoke Cadillac Celestiq as well as other components for the Cadillac Blackwing performance sedan, including a unique medallion on the manual shifter knob.

Fadi Abro, senior global director of automotive and mobility at 3D printing company Stratasys, said GM has become a good example of how companies can “standardize and then scale” 3D printing.

“The material properties are improving so much that the use cases are improving,” he said, noting the company works with all major automakers. “From a product perspective, we need to get the technology to be faster and more accessible, economically.”