3D Printing: How Hyundai Motor and Kia Accelerate Product Development Through Additive Manufacturing
Hyundai Motor and Kia opened the Additive Manufacturing Solution Center (AMSC) to accelerate vehicle development using 3D printing, enabling rapid prototyping and complex component production that traditional methods cannot achieve.
The useful question is what changes for users, developers or buyers, and whether the announcement stays industry context or becomes something people can actually use.
Hyundai Motor and Kia have established the Additive Manufacturing Solution Center (AMSC) at their Namyang R&D facility to leverage 3D printing for vehicle development. The center uses technologies such as laser-melted metals and powder-sintered polymers to produce components directly from digital designs, reducing tooling needs and material waste while enabling complex geometries and weight optimization that conventional manufacturing cannot support.
The AMSC operates multiple additive manufacturing systems tailored to different materials and applications. Polymer-based processes like Digital Light Processing (DLP) and Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA) produce detailed components for prototypes and validation, while Metal Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) systems create high-performance metal parts with intricate designs. Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technologies, including DED-Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), are used for large structural components, supporting materials such as steel, aluminum, and titanium.
Applications of the AMSC’s technology span vehicle development, heritage restoration, and motorsports. Engineers use 3D printing to rapidly produce prototypes, manufacturing jigs, and replacement parts, as well as recreate legacy components through reverse engineering. In motorsports, additive manufacturing supports the production of lightweight yet rigid components like anti-roll bar blades and brake duct rails, enhancing performance in racing environments.
The AMSC serves as Hyundai Motor Group’s hub for additive manufacturing, integrating design, production, post-processing, and validation under one roof. The center’s capabilities are expanding beyond vehicle components to include manufacturing tools and equipment consumables, reinforcing the Group’s manufacturing competitiveness as it adopts digital-first validation processes across its R&D infrastructure.