Volkswagen Classic Parts explores 3D printing as a way to create new spare parts

Every owner of a classic car has, at some point in their life, run into trouble because of a part they could not find on the market to replace a broken one, whether during the restoration of the vehicle itself or due to a later breakdown. This usually happens mostly because the manufacturers have stopped producing that part, and sometimes it cannot even be found through secondary suppliers.

Although there is still a long road ahead to reach perfection, this shortage of certain parts for classic cars may come to an end thanks to the research work that Volkswagen Classic Parts is carrying out with 3D printing. Although this type of technology is relatively new, the Volkswagen Group is already using it to create prototypes and equipment, so they now want to take advantage of this knowledge to create spare parts.

For the first test part they set three requirements: that it be as small as possible, that it not be visible once installed, and that it have a minimal construction with safety. This led them to an adapter fitted to the Volkswagen Corrado with leather upholstery on the window-winder handle, to prevent it from rubbing against the upholstery and damaging it. To give you an idea of how difficult the challenge was, this adapter is the size of a one-cent euro coin.

Once the part had been selected, the next step was to generate the CAD data needed for printing, which is obtained by scanning the part. With this done, they proceeded to print several prototypes, but these showed minor deviations from the original part, since the print was being made from an old part, so the print inherits its tolerances.

Neither readjusting the printer nor later hand modelling achieved the expected finish. The conclusion reached at Volkswagen Classic Parts is that the data obtained from scanning must be processed by engineers before printing to eliminate all inaccuracies, since something as simple as cloning parts is not possible.

Even so, now that they have found a way to do it with greater precision, it is only a matter of time before series production with 3D technology becomes a reality. Initially, it will be a great advance for manufacturers to keep producing old parts, especially in small batches, and thus ensure we can repair any breakdown in our classic car.

Source | Volkswagen