BMW Will Put a 3D-Printed Metal Part in a 2027 Production Car

BMW's first production WAAM part

BMW Group will launch a new vehicle in 2027 featuring a 3D-printed metal component made with wire arc additive manufacturing. The part is currently in its final qualification steps, according to Timo Göbel, BMW's Head of Additive Manufacturing.

Göbel told TCT Magazine that the component is structural aluminium. It is 30 to 40 percent lighter than a standard die-cast aluminium part and cheaper to produce at the volumes BMW needs.

Why WAAM works for cars

Wire arc additive manufacturing uses an electric arc to melt metal wire, building parts layer by layer. The process deposits material far faster than laser powder bed fusion, which Göbel says is too slow and too expensive for large components.

BMW has been exploring WAAM since 2015 and began building test parts with an MX3D production cell in 2021. The technology suits large structural parts where stiffness to weight ratio matters more than fine surface detail.

A growing additive footprint

Since 2020, BMW's Additive Manufacturing Campus and other vehicle plants have produced more than 1.6 million 3D-printed parts annually. Around 100,000 of those come from other vehicle plants. The company sees more opportunities for larger functional components as the process scales.

BMW is already looking for the next WAAM application, with Göbel noting that bigger parts are where the economics work best. The first production application is a pretty big part, he said, and the team is already hunting for the next one.