By SEMA News Editors
SEMA Garage and BigRep America today announced a new partnership that will give SEMA members throughout North America access to their newly offered large-format 3D printing services. Through this collaboration, the SEMA Garage facility in Diamond Bar, California, will serve as the hub for these services, enabling members to produce parts ranging from early-stage prototypes to functional components using BigRep's catalog of validated 3D-printing filaments.
SEMA Garage is the product development and technology resource center of SEMA, serving member companies in the automotive specialty equipment industry. It has consistently positioned itself at the forefront of emerging manufacturing and product development technologies, offering advanced vehicle testing, 3D scanning, OEM data and manufacturing services to support members' product development, research and compliance needs. The addition of large-format additive manufacturing represents the next chapter in that commitment.
"We couldn't be more excited about this partnership with SEMA Garage. It's a meaningful step forward in how we bring large-format additive manufacturing to the automotive industry in North America," said Jeff Olson, president, BigRep America. "The automotive sector has always been at the heart of what we do, and by working directly with SEMA Garage, we're making it easier than ever for their members to tap into that technology for real large-scale applications."
"SEMA Garage is thrilled to partner with BigRep to bring large-format rapid prototyping into our Product Development service lineup," said Jim Moore, vice president, OEM and product development, SEMA. "This cutting-edge capability gives our members the tools to stretch the limits of innovation and improve the speed and efficiency of their development process."
The Diamond Bar facility will be home to the BigRep STUDIO, a large-format 3D printer with a well-established track record in the automotive industry. The STUDIO is purpose-built for professional environments, capable of printing parts at full-scale using a broad range of materials--from standard prototyping filaments to engineering-grade thermoplastics suited for demanding functional applications.
BigRep brings deep roots in the automotive sector to this partnership. The company has worked with major automotive OEMs, including Ford, and has supported aftermarket shops nationwide in producing custom parts, interior components, and fabrication tooling. BigRep technology has also made its way into motorsports through a collaboration with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB of the NASCAR Cup Series, where large-format printing has been used to develop large-scale tooling, aerodynamic components and race-ready parts.
For more information, contact productdevelopment@sema.org.
