Toyota, Rivian Adopt Stratasys FDM to Accelerate Manufacturing Applications at Scale
The automakers are among the first users of Stratasys’ new large-format F870 additive manufacturing system, which prints carbon fiber-reinforced Nylon 12CF parts for shop floor tooling and fixtures.
Source | Statasys
Toyota Motor Corp. (Toyota City, Japan) and Rivian Automotive Inc. (Irvine, Calif., U.S.) have begun testing a new large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) system from Stratasys Ltd. (Minnetonka, Minn., U.S., and Rehovot, Israel) that prints carbon fiber-reinforced parts for factory floor tooling and fixtures. The automakers are among the first adopters of Stratasys’ F870 FDM system, which the company says is designed for industrial manufacturers, automotive OEMs and aerospace and defense production lines looking to scale additive manufacturing (AM) on the shop floor.
Toyota Production Engineering, based at the automaker’s Georgetown, Kentucky manufacturing complex, and Rivian’s plant in Plymouth, Michigan, are each assessing the platform across a range of applications — including factory floor tooling and manufacturing aids to advanced prototyping workflows — ahead of the system’s commercial availability. Early deployments are targeting automotive tooling and production support parts, including large fixtures, assembly tools and inspection gauges that traditionally require lengthy machining lead times.
The F870 offers a 1,000 × 610 × 610-millimeter build volume in a fully heated chamber, which Stratasys describes as the longest heated build capacity in its class. At launch, the system supports FDM Nylon 12CF — a carbon fiber-reinforced material — along with ASA, ABS and a new FDM ABS Draft (gray) material. Stratasys says Nylon 12CF’s strength, stiffness and durability suit demanding manufacturing floor tooling and fixture work. The platform extends the company’s production-grade FDM lineup, which also includes the F900, F770 and F3300 systems.
“We’ve already seen the value Stratasys AM can deliver,” says Dallas Martin, AM engineer at Toyota North America. “The next challenge is expanding its use across more applications. The F870’s combination of build size, material performance and industrial features aligns with the kinds of manufacturing needs we’re looking to address.”
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