By Gary S. Vasilash

“We have been using 3D printing to make components for prototypes, customized one-offs, as well as for series production for more than 30 years.

“The major advantages of 3D printing are the time and cost savings as well as a high degree of flexibility. This allows us to quickly manufacture, test and efficiently optimize different variants.”– Claudia Rackl, BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Projects & Qualification.

That “series production” has to be taken with a chunk of salt however.

Last year BMW brand sold 2,253,835 vehicles on a global basis.

According to findings reported out in 2022 of a study by 12-member consortium funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and led by BMW Group, using the laser powder bed fusion process—a type of additive manufacturing—about 50,000 components per year could be produced in common production with the process.

Or about 2% of the BMWs sold last year could be so equipped with a 3D-printed component.

Of course, the capabilities of the process are increasingly regularly, but it still has a long way to go in terms of volume production.

One place that BMW Group is using 3D printing to great effect is in its work with the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation, of which it is a technology partner.

It is using the process to create better bobsleigh shoes.

Nailed It

Bobsleigh shoes have rows on nails permanently attached to the toe area of the soles so that there is grip when the participants start their run.

The thing is: because these nails are permanently attached (let’s face it: when the sled is being pushed there is a whole lot of force acting on those nails, so they need to be secure), when they’re worn out (ice is, after all, abrasive), the shoes are tossed.

So they’re now working with 3D printing to create plates with threads that not only allowed the tailoring of the spiked arrangement for individual athletes, but would allow replacement of the plates as needed.

According to René Spies, head coach of the team, “We tested the spike plates in the World Cup and received a lot of positive feedback from the athletes. Nevertheless, a few tweaks are still necessary here and there, but we expect to have the perfect shoes to compete in by the 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the latest.”

And quick tweaks are ideal for 3D printing.