Nikon SLM Solutions, Lübeck, Germany, and Bosch Industry Consulting, Stuttgart, have collaborated to manufacture a complete aluminium V8 engine block as a single component at the Bosch Additive Solution Center in Nuremberg. The component was produced in AlSi10Mg on an NXG XII 600 Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing machine.

Although developed as a technology demonstrator, the engine block illustrates how large-format AM is advancing beyond prototyping towards applications traditionally produced by conventional manufacturing processes, particularly in automotive.