Bentley has made a £3 million investment to double its Additive Manufacturing capacity at the company’s headquarters in Crewe.
A state-of-the-art AM facility has been applied to a wide range of uses, producing more than 15,000 components in 2021 alone. This expansion will also enable Bentley to utilise advanced technology to create 3D printed vehicle components and even greater personalisation in customer cars.
The investment of this nature in such an innovative process is yet another example of Bentley’s vision to create a long-term, sustainable business model and remain at the forefront of technological progress.
The AM systems convert 3D CAD models into physical components and is recognised as one of the fastest developing technologies in the world. Bentley’s innovative research and development team has already identified a wide variety of items to print, including on-the-job assisted tools for manufacturing colleagues, such as lightweight sanding blocks in Bentley’s iconic wood shop.
Additionally, historically accurate tooling equipment needed to make parts for the Bentley Blower Continuation model was created, and even face shields provided to the healthcare sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
AM has been employed to create physical components for several prototype Bentleys, including full-scale powertrain models and aerodynamic wind tunnel models. The advanced techniques have also been used to produce parts for the record-breaking Bentley models that were driven in the demanding Pikes Peak Challenge in America.
The latest methods help speed up product development, allowing Bentley to produce a profusion of parts without the need to outsource. It is part of the company’s ground-breaking Beyond100 strategy, targeting sustainable mobility leadership by reinventing every aspect of the business.