For the first time in its history, the SPE Central Europe Automotive Award honoured a 3D printed component in June of 2024. The year’s grand prize winner was a 3D printed centre console carrier designed for a BMW Group vehicle scheduled for production in 2027.
The console is one of the largest 3D printed polymer components ever used in a commercial automobile, and it has the potential to significantly reduce the overall vehicle’s manufacturing complexity and carbon footprint.
BMW adopting 3D Printed Center Console

The winning center console carrier was on display at Formnext 2024 in the Hans Weber booth, alongside a live 3D printing demo. The 3D printed part weighs about 4 kg and measures 300 × 300 × 1,000 mm/Source:
The 3D printed version of the centre console reduces seven parts from the traditional assembly to just one part created using large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM). Rather than using injection moulding (which requires a large, expensive tool) for the main body of the console and then assembling parts from various suppliers, BMW can manufacture these new consoles in one piece using robot-based 3D printers supplied by Hans Weber Maschinenfabrik’s additive division.
Each console can be 3D printed in approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes using the latter’s DXR platform MEX or LSP systems equipped with a single-screw Weber AE 20 extruder; only minor machining is required before the component can be finished and installed.
Notably, the design incorporates two air ducts that would normally have to be manufactured separately using a tooling-based moulding process. 3D printing allowed for the integration of these air ducts in a more efficient route through the console, while also reducing overall manufacturing and assembly operations.

An estimated 18,000 3D printed centre console carriers will be required each year. BMW will produce the components in-house, using Hans Weber robotic 3D printers and Akromid PA11 material from Akro-Plastic. Unlike smaller fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers, Hans Weber’s large-scale DXR printers use fused granulate fabrication (FGF) or “direct extrusion” to enable 3D printing with readily available pellet materials, similar to those used in many moulding processes, rather than filaments or powders created specifically for additive. The Akromid material is composed of 40% recycled carbon fibre and renewable raw materials.
The material selection and design help to reduce the weight of the centre console by 30% compared to the assembled version, allowing for improved energy efficiency. The combination of recycled and renewable materials, reduced weight, and overall optimisation represented by the centre console resulted in a carbon savings of approximately 70 kg for the entire vehicle.
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