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According to the Bosch announcement, the company has invested nearly €6 million to establish a state-of-the-art production centre equipped with an advanced 3D metal printer supplied by Nikon. By using this technology, the facility will significantly speed up the development cycles of metal components, resulting in shorter time-to-market for new products.

The new printer is equipped with twelve lasers that melt metal powder to create even the most complex shapes, such as internal channels or intricate geometric structures. This technology makes it possible to realise projects that were previously impossible with traditional manufacturing methods. What’s more, the process is up to five times faster than previous 3D printing technologies.

The use of metal 3D printing eliminates the need for complex casting moulds, which can be costly and time consuming in traditional manufacturing (the casting mould for an engine block alone can take up to 18 months).

For example, an engine block can be produced in just a few days, whereas the traditional process takes up to three years from initial design to volume production. Reduced production times not only increase operational efficiency, but also allow greater flexibility to respond quickly to changes in market demand.

An additional benefit of using this technology is that it reduces waste to virtually zero, making a significant contribution to the sustainability of production. The Nuremberg plant is capable of producing parts with a total weight of up to 10,000 kg per year, with a throughput of up to 1,000 cm³ per hour.

In the words of Jörg Luntz, Technical Plant Manager at the Nuremberg plant, “We want to be faster than traditional production processes and use this technology to get products to market faster.