Originally 3d printing was used to create parts to examine ‘form & fit’, does it look right and does it fit amongst the other mating parts. This was perfect for the automotive industry in evolving their new designs of everything from door handles to gears. As material range and process accuracy has improved the automotive industry was quick to adopt 3d printing to make small batches of families of parts, allowing them to offer options to Customers, effectively ‘customising’ vehicles. The ability to make parts without committing time and cost to tooling provides the industry with a rapid route to new product development (NPD).