• by Tanya Gazdik , November 7, 2019

Volkswagen is playing up its technology advancements, which are testing the limits of 3D printing for mass production.

The automaker started production this week for the ID.3, the first car in the company’s newest generation of electric vehicles. The company welcomed German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and other dignitaries to an event in Zwickau, Germany, celebrating the launch.

Guests were given a commemorative ID.3 model printed using VW’s metal 3D printing technology, HP Metal Jet.

The automaker intends to use HP Metal Jet for mass customization and functional parts for actual full-size vehicles in the near future.

The work Volkswagen and HP are doing together on the path to mass production is highlighted in a video.

Volkswagen last year selected HP Metal Jet and its 3D printing technology for the high volume manufacturing of production-grade metal parts.  The two companies developed a three-phase strategic roadmap.

The automaker intends to integrate Metal Jet printed structural parts into the next generation of vehicles such as gearshift knobs and mirror mounts.

HP is partnering with GKN Powder Metallurgy, the world’s leading provider of metal parts, to deploy HP Metal Jet factories to produce functional metal parts for auto and industrial leaders.