The SOLIDWORKS User Group Catalunya concludes its three-part Additive Manufacturing for Automotive Engineering series with a practical engineering design workshop.

As part of the Computer-Aided Design and Analysis course within the Master’s Degree in Automotive Engineering, this final session moves from understanding Additive Manufacturing technologies and DfAM principles to applying them directly to an automotive engineering product.

The workshop will be led by Ricardo Vazquez, Senior Applications Engineer at Shift 3D, and will use the SAE Mini Baja project as the engineering case study.

This session will be delivered in Spanish.

Additive Manufacturing Engineering Workshop

SAE Mini Baja DfAM Redesign

The objective of this session is not simply to redesign a component for 3D printing.

Students will be required to identify one or more components of the SAE Mini Baja vehicle that could genuinely benefit from Additive Manufacturing and develop a technically justified engineering solution.

The complete decision-making process will be considered:

Component Selection → Engineering Requirements → AM Technology → Material → DfAM Redesign → Build Strategy → Manufacturing Time → Material Consumption → Cost → Technical Justification

This transforms Additive Manufacturing from a production technology into an integrated product development and engineering decision-making process.

Workshop Objective

Participants will identify one or more components of the SAE Mini Baja vehicle that could benefit from Additive Manufacturing and develop a technically justified redesign.

The selected solution must demonstrate not only that the component can be additively manufactured, but also why Additive Manufacturing represents an appropriate engineering solution.

Workshop Activities

Each team will:

• Select one or more candidate components from the SAE Mini Baja assembly.

• Identify the functional and engineering requirements of the selected component.

• Justify why the component is suitable for Additive Manufacturing.

• Select an appropriate Additive Manufacturing technology.

• Select an appropriate material.

• Redesign the component following DfAM principles.

• Define build orientation.

• Define the required support strategy.

• Evaluate manufacturing feasibility.

• Estimate manufacturing time.

• Estimate material consumption.

• Perform a preliminary manufacturing cost assessment.

• Present and defend the engineering decisions behind the proposed solution.

Expected Engineering Deliverables

The workshop will result in a preliminary engineering definition of the proposed AM component, including:

• Engineering justification report

• Redesigned CAD model

• Manufacturing strategy

• DfAM assessment

• Preliminary manufacturing time and material estimation

• Preliminary cost assessment

• Technical presentation and engineering defense

From Technology Selection to Engineering Decision

A central objective of this workshop is to avoid selecting Additive Manufacturing simply because a component is geometrically complex or technically printable.

Participants will instead evaluate whether AM provides a real engineering advantage.

The decision must therefore consider:

Technical Performance × Manufacturability × Material × Production Process × Time × Cost

A successful solution should demonstrate an appropriate balance between these factors.

Applying DfAM to an Automotive Product

The SAE Mini Baja vehicle provides a multidisciplinary engineering environment containing structural, mechanical and functional components with very different requirements.

Potential opportunities for Additive Manufacturing may arise from:

• Weight reduction

• Part consolidation

• Geometric complexity

• Low production volumes

• Functional integration

• Customized interfaces

• Reduced assembly requirements

• Improved material utilization

• Accelerated product development

However, every proposed application must be technically justified.

The fundamental engineering question is therefore not:

“Can we 3D print this component?”

but:

“Does redesigning this component for Additive Manufacturing create measurable engineering value?”

An Integrated CAD–CAE–AM Workflow

The workshop brings together the concepts developed throughout the Additive Manufacturing series into a single engineering workflow:

Requirements

↓

Component Selection

↓

Material & Process Selection

↓

CAD Redesign

↓

DfAM

↓

Engineering Validation

↓

Build Orientation & Support Strategy

↓

Manufacturing Time & Material Estimation

↓

Cost Assessment

↓

Engineering Decision

This represents the type of integrated digital product development workflow increasingly required in modern automotive engineering.

A Live Automotive Engineering Master’s Workshop

This is not a standalone webinar.

Participants will be joining a real engineering workshop of the Master’s Degree in Automotive Engineering, together with the students enrolled in the course.

Unlike the previous theoretical sessions, this workshop focuses on engineering application, decision-making and technical justification using the SAE Mini Baja vehicle as the common product platform.

The objective is to connect academic engineering, industrial Additive Manufacturing practices and the SOLIDWORKS professional community within the same product development exercise.

External participants are welcome to join the Master’s students and experience how Additive Manufacturing decisions are developed and defended within a real automotive engineering project.

Because this session takes place during the regular Master’s class, only 10 places are available for external in-person attendees.

Everyone is welcome to join virtually.