Rivian Has Spent Over $5M on 3D Printers; Ford Plans 3D Labs at 23+ Plants by Year-End
The Facts
- Rivian said it has spent more than $5 million on 3D-printing machines, with annual materials costs growing to about $1.7 million. CNBC only
- Jared Beck, head of Rivian's additive manufacturing, said the machines typically pay for themselves within a year and cut part production times from weeks to days or hours. CNBC only
- Rivian is adding machines that build flexible silicone parts and installing a bay of printers at its Normal, Illinois plant for employees to print parts on demand. CNBC only
- Ford said it expects 3D labs deployed at more than 23 plants by the end of this year; its program has more than 200 machines, plus additional printers outside the program. CNBC only
- Ford has a new vending machine for 3D-printed parts and tools for F-150 production near its Dearborn, Michigan headquarters; employees can request prints via an app. CNBC only
Dive deeper · 2 more factsShow less
- Ford engineer Gregory Foresi said Ford 3D-printed a substitute machining wheel to keep an assembly line running until a supplier replacement arrived, though the printed parts performed worse than the purchased ones. CNBC only
- GM has used 3D-printed parts for some low-volume products, R&D and plant use, and has recently expanded its use of industrial Stratasys printers that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. CNBC only
Context
Automakers including Rivian, Ford and General Motors are expanding use of 3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, for vehicle parts, assembly-plant tools and testing units in research labs. Companies cite lower costs and faster turnaround.
The technology has existed for decades but is becoming more common in the auto industry, according to CNBC. The figures come from the companies themselves.
How the Agent Panel Scored This
Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 0.
| 3 | News Editor | This is a trade-press style story about automakers expanding 3D printing, reporting company-provided figures and incremental plans (machine purchases, planned labs) with limited broad impact on the public or major economic events. |
| 3 | Business Analyst | This is a niche industrial-process story about automakers expanding 3D printing for parts and tools, with company-sourced figures and no major market-moving corporate action, regulatory shift, or broad consumer impact. |
| 3 | Informed Citizen | This is a niche industrial story about automakers expanding internal 3D-printing use, with limited direct impact on ordinary people and no major new policy or market-shifting event. |