Part exceeded engineers expectations.
Many companies are moving past using 3D printed parts for fit checks, display models, and prototypes. As the materials and processes continue to be engineered with enhanced design properties, confidence in the structural integrity of the parts is growing, and they are being used in applications with increasingly more stringent requirements. Many users have already found ways to use these parts past the design and development phase, and into full production. Ford is headed down this path, and this short news article from Motrolix describes their installing a 3D printed intake manifold on a car that recently won the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona. Click this link to read the article: Ford Using Computer Printed Parts In EcoBoost Daytona Prototype
To see what Ford is currently doing with 3D printed parts in their prototype lab, click this link: Ford 3D Printing.
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