Solution Guide

Choosing the Right 3D Printing 			Materials for Automotive
How to Know Which Polymer to Use

Automotive
Solution Guide
When the manufacturing engineers at General Motors needed to replace parts for an overhead conveyor,
they made an interesting decision. Those parts, called “risers,” were made of steel, but their weight hindered
the efficient function of the overhead equipment. GM engineers wanted a lighter alternative to reduce theload on the system.
You might think aluminum would be their obvious choice for the new parts. It’s lighter than steel yetsatisfies the “metal-equals-strong” paradigm. The problem was that aluminum risers would involve periodic
removal for offsite maintenance. Fabrication and repair would also require welding the aluminum; a processengineers wanted to avoid.
Instead, GM engineers used plastic – but not just any plastic. They 3D printed the risers using a nylon
polymer reinforced with carbon fiber. The result was a bolt-on solution that lowered the weight by 32%. This
also cut implementation lead time by 75% compared to traditionally fabricated metal tooling.
3D printing, or additive manufacturing (AM) as it’s also known, offers multiple benefits for the auto industry.
That’s why GM’s decision to modify its conveyor system using AM is no real surprise. What’s interesting
about this story is the engineers’ decision to 3D print with polymer and forego the traditional “use metal”
approach. It’s a growing trend that’s backed up by expanding adoption, not only at GM but by otherautomakers as well.
AM technology comes in multiple flavors, with certain technologies being a better fit for some 		
auto applications than others. It’s a topic we cover in our companion Solution Guide 			“How to Choose the Right 3D Printing Technology for Automotive Manufacturing.” But once
you’ve chosen the appropriate AM technology, it’s all about the materials. And we’re here to say 			that polymer 3D printing offers a sweet spot for the automotive industry. That’s true for several
reasons, because compared to metal 3D printing, polymer AM offers:•

Fewer resource constraints (facilities, training, safety)•Greater accessibility and ease of use•

Broad material capabilities and price points•

Lightweight but strong options for applications where it can replace metal

With such a wide range of polymers – from thermoplastics to thermosets to photopolymers – how do you
know which material to choose and the use cases where each is appropriate? That’s the challenge thisSolution Guide will clarify by highlighting the Stratasys AM technologies and materials suitable for eachphase of automotive production:•Product Development•

Production Support•

Part Production

Solution Guide

Let’s break it down.

Automotive
Solution Guide

AM Materials forProduct Development

Product development includes creating mock-ups, models, and prototypes to develop, refine and validate
design concepts. Additive manufacturing is beneficial at this stage because it makes parts without any
support tooling, accelerating the design and ideation process.
AM materials best suited for this phase of automotive production include polymers with a broad color
selection and texture capabilities, able to reproduce or mimic the look and feel of other materials.
This makes them an optimal choice for concepts and prototypes that need to represent their finishedconfiguration – particularly helpful for auto interiors, external molding and lighting. Other factors include easy
printability, fine surface finish, and the ability to replicate other types of plastics like acrylic.
For this phase, the following materials are the best fit for these applications:

Visual Prototypes and Concept Models
In many applications, these materials avoid the need for additional post-processing steps like painting andtexturizing, which shortens the design cycle.

Solution Guide

Stereolithography Photopolymers•Somos® WaterClear Ultra 10122 – An optically
clear, moisture-resistant material that simulates
acrylic’s visual characteristics and clarity.

•Somos® WaterShed XC 11122 – A clear 		
stereolithography photopolymer with superiormoisture resistance that mimics the look andfeel of transparent ABS (acrylonitrile butadienestyrene) and PBT (polybutylene terephthalate)thermoplastics.

•

Somos EvoLVe 128 – Durable SL material 		designed for easy finishing and capable of highly
detailed features with a look very similar to 		finished thermoplastics.

•

Somos Taurus – A material with excellent surface
finish and mechanical and thermal performancecapable of functional testing.

®

®

PolyJet™ Thermoset Resins•

Vero™ and VeroVivid™ – This photopolymer family 		
can print over 500,000 colors and combine with 		other PolyJet materials to create multiple shore 		values and simulate textured finishes.

•VeroUltraClear™ – A clear photopolymer that 		achieves 95% light transmission suitable for 			simulating glass, acrylic, and other transparent 		
polymers.

•Agilus30™ and Elastico™ – These photopolymers 		
can produce flexible, tear-resistant rubber-like 		
textures in Shore A values of 30 and 45, respectively.
This custom tail light concept was
created with PolyJet materials,
highlighting the capabilities of
PolyJet technology for extremely highrealism, clarity and color capability for
automotive prototyping.

Custom LightConceptFit/Form and Functional Prototypes

AutomotiveSolution Guide

For these applications, a broad range of versatile thermoplastics provide choices to tailor the material tothe particular application requirements. Lower-cost engineering plastics like ASA give designers a suitablematerial for fit and form prototypes while carbon-reinforced polymers offer stronger options for functional
prototypes.

FDM Thermoplastics•ASA – Easily printable thermoplastic producing
an excellent surface finish for an extrusion-based
print process. Available in multiple colors andhighly resistant to long-term UV light exposure.

•FDM® Nylon 6 – Characterized by good tensile
strength, toughness, and wear resistance in a 3D
printable form of this stable material.

•FDM® Nylon 12 – Offers the ductility needed forsnap fits and applications requiring many flex
cycles.

•FDM® Nylon 12CF – A nylon 12 polymer infusedwith carbon fiber, 35% by weight, resulting in avery rigid, strong thermoplastic filament.

Skorpion Engineering used FDM
technology to print a full-scale
prototype automotive bumper,
reducing the cycle time by 50%
compared with traditional clay model
production methods.

Solution Guide

Turn Time
50% Reduction

AutomotiveSolution Guide

AM Materials forProduction Support

Production support comprises the tools and infrastructure to sustain the manufacturing process. 3D printing
plays an important role, enabling more efficient ways to make and use tools across multiple departments
and disciplines including R&D, assembly, quality control, health and safety, and others.
Additionally, 3D printing offers a fast, cost-effective solution for making surrogate parts. These parts standin when the genuine parts are not yet available for tooling setup verification with new model-year production
line changes. This can dramatically reduce the time for tooling validation and quickly identify where changes
are needed, long before final parts and assemblies are available.
Stratasys polymers best suited for this phase of automotive production are listed below, grouped into three
categories.

Fixtures – Manufacturing Aids – End-of-Arm Tooling
Polymer 3D printing materials for production support center around durable thermoplastics due to theircapabilities, particularly the carbon-reinforced varieties. Less critical applications benefit from lower-cost,easily printed engineering grade thermoplastics.

FDM Thermoplastics•

ASA – Easily printable, general-purpose 		
thermoplastic with a good surface finish suitablefor CMM inspection fixtures, assembly jigs, andlow-to-medium load fixtures.

•FDM Nylon 12CF - Nylon 12 combined with 35%
carbon fiber for high-requirement tooling 		that needs high rigidity and strength, such asend-of-arm tooling.

•ABS-CF10 – ABS material filled with 10% 		
chopped carbon fiber providing a stronger 		thermoplastic than standard ABS material.

••FDM® Nylon-CF10 – A nylon-blend polymer 		infused with 10% chopped carbon fiber providing
additional strength above ABS-CF10. Prints with avery smooth surface finish.

ULTEM™ 9085 resin – PEI (polyetherimide) 		
thermoplastic suitable for tooling applications
involving elevated temperatures and exposure tochemicals.

Surrogate Parts
As mentioned previously, surrogate parts can be easily printed with strong but lightweight material like ASA.
When those parts need to represent the weight of the real part, steel shot can easily be added to the sparse
infill interior after it is printed and capped off.

Solution Guide

FDM Thermoplastics•ASA – Capable of sparse infills (internal structure)
to reduce material use and model weight without
sacrificing strength. Does not become brittle overtime with exposure to UV light like ABS-basedplastics. Available in multiple colors for 		
identification purposes.

AutomotiveSolution Guide

AM Materials for 									Production Support (cont.)
Investment Casting Patterns
Select stereolithography photopolymers have a niche for specific tooling applications like investment casting
pattern development. 3D printed casting patterns can be made very quickly and enable a faster and lowercost option to validate the final tooling, avoiding expensive changes to hard tooling if the original design is
not optimal.

Stereolithography Photopolymers•Somos® WaterShed AF – Antimony-free material
that leaves only trace amounts of ash residue
after burnout, reducing clean-up and accelerating
mold production.

General Motors switched from a heavy
aluminum wheel arch hemming tool to
a 3D printed version made with FDM
ASA thermoplastic. The result was alighter tool more easily manipulated
and a significant savings compared toa machined metal tool.

74%

Solution Guide

Lower
Cost

Lead Time
Savings

56%

WeightReduction

50%

Automotive
Solution Guide

AM Materials forPart Production and Spare Parts

Despite its origin as a rapid prototyping tool, 3D printing’s utility for automotive applications extends to themanufacture of end-use parts. Its benefit lies in overcoming limitations like manufacturability constraints or
economic barriers due to production volume. Parts made with AM don’t require support tooling, bypassing
a costly and time-consuming step in the production process.
With the other phases of auto production, the applications usually drive the best material choices. However,the process is a little different when producing end-use parts. That’s because your total part quantity plays arole in determining the best 3D printing technology to use – and that, in turn, controls your available materialchoices.

Low-Volume Production (100s of parts)
The following 3D printing technologies are suitable:•PolyJet

•

FDM

•

Stereolithography

100sof Parts

The material choices for these technologies aretypically influenced by several factors:•Desired mechanical and/or aesthetic properties•Material cost per part•

Available print technology and printer build
capacity
Custom automaker Radford Motors
used FDM technology to produce thedashboard framework for the Radford
Lotus Type 62-2 production car, ofwhich only 62 were made.

Solution Guide

Low-Volume,
Highly-CustomizedProduction

Automotive
Solution Guide

High-Volume Production (1000s of parts)
These are your best print technology options:•P3™ (Programmable PhotoPolymerization – aform of digital light processing)•SAF™ (Selective Absorption Fusion™ – powder bed)

For these technologies, the following materials areoptimal choices for end-use part applications:P3 Photopolymers•

LOCTITE® 3D 3955 FST – Flame-retardant polymer
exhibiting excellent tensile and flexural mechanicalproperties suitable for end-use parts such as
electrical connectors.

•LOCTITE® 3D 3843 High Toughness – An impactresistant, high-strength polymer that results in parts
with a superior surface finish.		

•		•

PA12* – Versatile nylon polymer that is one of themost widely used additive manufacturing materials.

•Polypropylene* – Another widely used polymer
known for fatigue resistance, toughness, andchemical resistance.

•1000sof Parts

SAF Powdered Polymers				

PA11 – A nylon offering high impact resistance andductility, an important characteristic when the latter
is a crucial design requirement.		
* Available late 2023.

Roush Performance used SAF™
technology and PA11 to print the F-150
grill-mounted camera housing for its
entire production run after a late-stage
design change, meeting scheduleand saving 35% in cost compared toinjection molding.

35%

Solution Guide

Cost
Savings

Cycle Time
Reduction

50%

Automotive
Solution Guide

The Bottom Line

When it comes to additive manufacturing, printer technology is important. But the right materials are theessential ingredients for success, and polymer 3D printing offers fertile ground to address many automotive
applications. Polymers have the versatility to cover a wide range of use cases simply due to the scope ofavailable materials. In addition, they have the properties and the aesthetic qualities to tackle applications
from prototyping a lens cover to making ventilation scoops for every car fielded in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Use this guide as a starting point to get familiar with 3D printing materials that best serve the automotiveindustry. If they’re not available on the particular type of 3D printing technology you currently have, or if
you don’t have access to 3D printing yet, we can still help. Stratasys Direct Manufacturing is a service
bureau that’s served countless customers with their additive manufacturing needs. It has all five Stratasys
AM technologies and offers a fast and convenient way to test drive the benefits of 3D printing or augment
your current AM capabilities.
Also keep in mind that material technology is an ever-evolving landscape, with new materials continually
being developed to address new applications. You can explore the full range of Stratasys 3D printing
materials at Stratasys.com/en/materials/materials-catalog/.
The bottom line? Polymer 3D printing is a highly effective tool for taking time and cost out of all phases ofautomotive production. Contact a Stratasys team member to learn more about how our technologies
and material versatility can benefit your operation.

Stratasys Headquarters

SolutionGuide
Guide
Solution

7665 Commerce Way,
Eden Prairie, MN 55344+1 800 801 6491 (US Toll Free)+1 952 937-3000 (Intl)+1 952 937-0070 (Fax)

1 Holtzman St., Science Park,PO Box 2496
Rehovot 76124, Israel+972 74 745 4000+972 74 745 5000 (Fax)stratasys.com
ISO 9001:2015 Certified© 2023 Stratasys. All rights reserved. Stratasys, the Stratasys Signet logo, Somos and FDM are registered trademarks of Stratasys Inc. PolyJet,Vero, VeroVivid, VeroUltraClear, Agilus30, Elastico, FDM Nylon 6, FDM Nylon 12, FDM Nylon 12CF, FDM Nylon-CF10, SAF and Selective
Absorption Fusion are trademarks of Stratasys, Inc. 9085, 1010 and ULTEM™ are trademarks of SABIC, its affiliates or subsidiaries. All othertrademarks are the property of their respective owners, and Stratasys assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, oruse of these non-Stratasys products. Product specifications subject to change without notice. SG_MU_AU_Matls for Auto_0223a