The production of a limited series is a clever move in automotive marketing in order to stand out from other manufacturers. DS Automobiles, a brand of the French automotive group PSA, was able to establish itself in the premium segment within just a few years thanks to its avant-garde vehicles. The compact DS 3, one of the brand's most popular models, is regularly produced in limited series. DS Automobiles used 3D printing for the Dark Side edition. Additive manufacturing gave the DS design team freedom of design and - thanks to the Spartacus3D experts and the EOS M 290 system - enabled quick and easy product development and production.

The project was created to implement innovative optimizations in the interior of the DS 3 as part of a limited series. The components had to be of the highest quality in order to meet the requirements of the premium segment. AM technology offered the designers a great deal of creative freedom. They opted for titanium as the material: the durable material with a luxurious touch can easily be given a beautiful finish.

700 vehicles worldwide
Although 3D printing has been used for years in the automotive industry under the term rapid prototyping, it is comparatively new for series production. DS Automobiles therefore had to find a partner that not only had AM expertise, but also the production capacity required for the volume of parts. After all, around 700 vehicles were to be delivered worldwide. The project was tightly scheduled so as not to jeopardize the vehicle's production planning or the marketing schedule.

The EOS M 290 builds cost-efficiently and reliably: even when producing 200 components at the same time, their quality is not impaired in any way. © Spartacus 3D

Each limited series has a fixed price target, so the additively manufactured parts also had to fit into the budget. The component costs for the selected parts, the trim strips for the door handles and the car key, had to be economically justifiable. Spartacus 3D, a subsidiary of the French group Farinia, which specializes in material conversion, was able to meet all the required criteria. With the EOS M 290 and the material EOS Titanium Ti64, Spartacus3D was also able to meet the design and quality specifications and provide the project capacity required for production and post-processing.

The DS design team used parametric design to create the trim strips and the car key. To find the best compromise between quality, cost and design, DS Automobiles and Spartacus 3D evaluated various prototypes, which could be produced in just one production batch thanks to additive manufacturing.

The DS design team opted for a manual polish to matt the surface. The DS quality department defined precise acceptance criteria for warpage, surface quality (porosity and gloss) and edge finishing. To keep costs low, Spartacus3D optimized the component production. Factors influencing this are: Orientation of the parts in the installation space, design of the support structures and the manufacturing process itself.

When using titanium, the component can develop residual stress during the melting process. In the case of a long, thin object, such as the trim strip of the door handles, this can lead to distortion. Due to the costs involved, stress relief firing was out of the question. The risk had to be avoided by using specific process parameters. The production of several parts in one batch had a positive effect on support structures, powder consumption and post-processing time and reduced costs. By selecting the optimum material, the component had the necessary stability and - after post-processing - the right quality.

Original design adopted almost one-to-one
Thanks to the expertise of Spartacus 3D, an AM process could be developed that was tailored to the requirements of DS Automobiles. The parametric design fully exploited the possibilities of EOS technology: The complex original design - composed of two parts - could be adopted almost one-to-one in the additive manufacturing process. Thanks to optimal positioning, several units were produced at once, which minimized production costs.

The EOS M 290 is a modular system for the additive series production of high-quality metal components. © EOS

A matt surface was achieved by post-processing the EOS Titanium Ti64 material, giving the decorative strips and the car key their luxurious appearance. The small works of art have a three-dimensional structure thanks to their elegant and refined design. Once again, DS Automobiles impresses with a perfect combination of elegance, modernity and exclusivity.

Around ten production runs were required for the total of 2,000 components - three per vehicle. The construction time amounted to around 2,000 production hours. Overall, the project only took a few weeks from the validation of the design by DS to the delivery of the components. as