Development Time Reduced from 9 Weeks to 2 Weeks Using AM

Michelin Tire Sipes

Michelin uses the FormUp 350 Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) machine to produce highly complex sipes required to make molds for their tires. By using additive manufacturing, Michelin has significantly reduced the production time of their tire molds while achieving breakthrough performance gains thanks to the FormUp’s as-printed surface finish (as low as 4 Ra μm) and resolution details (down to 0.2mm).

AddUp’s PBF machine not only meets high-quality requirements for Michelin’s tire sipes, but also provides a reliable and repeatable platform for serial production. Michelin uses AddUp machines to produce more than 1,000,000 tire sipes per year in serial production.