<p>The <a href="http://manufacturing.materialise.com/mammoth-stereolithography" rel="nofollow">Materialise Mammoth</a> printers seem to be the predominant choice for manufacturing car body parts. However, any sufficiently large printer (e.g. <a href="https://bigrep.com/" rel="nofollow">bigrep</a>) could work. That said, car body parts are quite a challenge to 3D print given how excruciatingly long such large parts take (exacerbating the probability of failure). You will have to very carefully consider whether 3D printing is right for your application (it probably is not).</p>

<p>The licensing part is extremely complicated. You'll have to deal with patents (perhaps the body part incorporates some clever patented feature), trademarks (you generally can't reproduce manufacturer's logo's) and copyrights (if the part is very "artistic" it might be protected by copyright, but this is unlikely). A simple, functional part such as a body panel would generally not be protected by any of these but these three things are the main reason why you <em>might</em> need a license.</p>

<p>In addition, you have to be careful as to which materials you use, as these will (most probably) not be as strong/durable as those that are produced by car-parts-manufacturers. Furthermore, if you print the parts yourself, install it in a customer's vehicle, and the vehicle malfunctions, as a result, you may find yourself being sued.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-07T10:34:42.007Z
Tom, @PMARINA added the last section as a suggested edit. If you feel it is disconnected from your answer, then perhaps PMARINA should add it as a separate answer instead.
Tormod Haugene
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-05T21:48:31.857Z
2016-06-07T10:28:46.710Z
2016-06-07T10:28:46.710Z
Tom van der Zanden
<p>What type of printer would one recommend to print and cast car body parts fast on a large scale? Also if I were to print parts for restoration would I need licences from the manufactures?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-06T21:01:33.757Z
3D printers are not typically used for this, maybe just for prototypes by large corporations using very expensive laser metal printers. Have a look into CNCs instead.
Leo Ervin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-12T01:52:34.750Z
Why do you want to 3-D print as the method of production for auto body parts? The main advantage of 3-D printing is the ability to customize each print, rather than requiring large amounts of the same design (as becomes advantageous under mass-production manufacturing methods). In addition, 3-D printing will have structural challenges which are not seen in metallic parts (if that is what you are replicating).
J. Roibal - BlockchainEng
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-12T06:44:42.820Z
@J.Roibal But what if you want to produce a one-off part for a car that is long out of production?
Tom van der Zanden
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-15T22:43:22.870Z
@TomvanderZanden yeah, that's a valid 3D printing use case. It doesn't seem to be what the asker is asking though: "...print and cast car body parts fast on a large scale"
Tin Wizard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-16T13:18:16.573Z
check out http://web.ornl.gov/sci/manufacturing/media/news/detroit-show/
MakerModder
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-17T14:36:16.793Z
You may also want to look into something like a CNC Router for cutting molds. You will find you can cut a large shape faster than you can print it.   You could also mix a cut mold with 3D printed inserts into the mold to add features that a 3 Axis CNC Router couldn't make. This could also ease un-molding of your casts.
creuzerm
<3d-design>
Car Body shop Printers
Kay
# Car Body shop Printers

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-05)

What type of printer would one recommend to print and cast car body parts fast on a large scale? Also if I were to print parts for restoration would I need licences from the manufactures?

**Tags:** 3d-design
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 3D printers are not typically used for this, maybe just for prototypes by large corporations using very expensive laser metal printers. Have a look into CNCs instead.  
> **username_2**: Why do you want to 3-D print as the method of production for auto body parts? The main advantage of 3-D printing is the ability to customize each print, rather than requiring large amounts of the same design (as becomes advantageous under mass-production manufacturing methods). In addition, 3-D printing will have structural challenges which are not seen in metallic parts (if that is what you are replicating).  
> **username_3**: @J.Roibal But what if you want to produce a one-off part for a car that is long out of production?  
> **username_4**: @TomvanderZanden yeah, that's a valid 3D printing use case. It doesn't seem to be what the asker is asking though: "...print and cast car body parts fast on a large scale"  
> **username_5**: check out http://web.ornl.gov/sci/manufacturing/media/news/detroit-show/  
> **username_6**: You may also want to look into something like a CNC Router for cutting molds. You will find you can cut a large shape faster than you can print it.   You could also mix a cut mold with 3D printed inserts into the mold to add features that a 3 Axis CNC Router couldn't make. This could also ease un-molding of your casts.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-06-05. Score: 4

The [Materialise Mammoth](http://manufacturing.materialise.com/mammoth-stereolithography) printers seem to be the predominant choice for manufacturing car body parts. However, any sufficiently large printer (e.g. [bigrep](https://bigrep.com/)) could work. That said, car body parts are quite a challenge to 3D print given how excruciatingly long such large parts take (exacerbating the probability of failure). You will have to very carefully consider whether 3D printing is right for your application (it probably is not).

The licensing part is extremely complicated. You'll have to deal with patents (perhaps the body part incorporates some clever patented feature), trademarks (you generally can't reproduce manufacturer's logo's) and copyrights (if the part is very "artistic" it might be protected by copyright, but this is unlikely). A simple, functional part such as a body panel would generally not be protected by any of these but these three things are the main reason why you *might* need a license.

In addition, you have to be careful as to which materials you use, as these will (most probably) not be as strong/durable as those that are produced by car-parts-manufacturers. Furthermore, if you print the parts yourself, install it in a customer's vehicle, and the vehicle malfunctions, as a result, you may find yourself being sued.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: Tom, @PMARINA added the last section as a suggested edit. If you feel it is disconnected from your answer, then perhaps PMARINA should add it as a separate answer instead.  

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