Small Series Production and Geometric Analysis of Sheet Metal Car Body Parts Using Forming Tools Made of Fused Filament Fabricated PLA

The automotive industry is currently facing increased pressure to innovate by developing and producing several drive concepts in parallel. This results in increased demands on product development. Rapid, cost-reduced implementation of tool changes during the product development process is becoming a decisive advantage in an increasingly competitive market. Other players are also entering vehicle development, which are digital, dynamic, flexible and close to the customer. The increasing number of small and medium-sized series and the trend towards mass customization are motivating the need for a flexible and cost-efficient production technology for car body parts.One solution to these challenges is the application of polymer-additive manufactured functional elements in forming tools for thin sheet metal. In this paper, the forming of several demonstrators is described. Therefore, thin sheet metals are deep drawn with tools made of PLA. The experiment represents a small series production of an exemplary car body part. This will be validated by optical measurement of the produced car body parts as well as the tool.