Toyoda Gosei has decided to invest in Slab (Kyoto, Japan), a venture company that develops and manufactures plastic 3D printers for faster speed in product development and greater efficiency in low-volume, high-mix manufacturing.
Today, the automotive industry is going through a time of accelerated change, with intensified competition in the development of new CASE2 technologies. This demands technical innovations in development and production that are not bound by existing frameworks. Plastic 3D printers have begun to be used for this, but applications have been limited due to restrictions in product quality and forming time.
With this investment by Toyoda Gosei, the two companies will work together to raise the precision and speed of plastic 3D printers. This will both speed up product development and advance the development of flexible production technology for the efficient manufacturing of low-volume, high-mix products.
SOURCE: Toyoda Gosei
