Here are some pretty large automotive parts printed on our large frame 3D printers. These parts are used in the design stage to validate prototypes from a design, aesthetic and sometimes even a functional standpoint. This means car manufacturers bolt these 3D printed parts to the chassis of the cars drive them around to perform tests. Once the tests are passed then expensive molds and dies are made to mass produce these parts for the assembly line.
However, in recent times, car manufacturers have started using 3D printed parts in the final products as well. This makes sense for limited editions of cars. An example is Ferrari which had a limited production of a particular model of just 20 cars. So they asked us to print 20 sets of headlight assemblies instead of spending all that money to produce the tooling for just 20 sets of parts and maybe a couple of prototypes.
