Nikola Corporation, a manufacturer in the transportation industry, has invested in the BigRep PRO, a large-format FFF 3D printer to improve their manufacturing processes.
The company designs and manufactures zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, electric vehicle drivetrains, vehicle components, energy storage systems, and hydrogen station infrastructure.
Unveiled two years ago, the BigRep Pro is a large-format 3D printer has been developed in collaboration with Bosch Rexroth. It offers full IoT connectivity, including 5G. With a build envelope of almost one full cubic meter, the PRO can be used with two varieties of extruder the Advanced Capability Extruder (ACE) and the BigRep MXT®, its proprietaryMetering Extruder Technology.
A large, airtight filament chamber allows for continuous printing with engineering-grade filaments. The PRO operates using BigRep’s BLADE slicer software, which provides accurate printing time and material use calculations for optimized productivity, as well as simple tools for easy batch and mirror printing.
The team at Nikola Corporation will be using the machine to 3D print assembly, weld, and Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) inspection fixtures, tasks that require a high level of precision. The recently unveiled engineering-grade materials will help create new applications – using standard machining techniques at the post-processing stage.
“At Nikola Corporation, our vision is to become a global leader in zero-emissions transportation – and innovation plays a significant role in making that happen.We selected the BigRep PRO for its large-format build volume, third-party filament compatibility, and state-of-the-art Bosch-Rexroth CNC control systems,” said Technical Operations Manager of Nikola Corporation, Riley Gillman. “The first prints that we ran lasted 17 days. Since then, we have been pretty much running the PRO non-stop to help us print parts and components using its large capacity of printing, high resolution and accuracy throughout the entire process.”
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