Launch of the CEN Workshop FLEXCRASH

There is increasing interest in the field of additive manufacturing (AM) in the automotive industry. Better understood as 3D printing for automotive body-in-white (BIW) structures, additive manufacturing can provide numerous benefits including weight reduction, part consolidation and greater sustainability compared with traditional manufacturing. The promise of better performance combined with resource efficiency, increased safety and environmental benefits makes this kind of hybrid manufacturing an attractive approach for the future of vehicle production.

Nevertheless, the industrial application of AM and related technologies currently faces a lack of harmonized guidance covering technical validation and sustainability assessment. The proposed CEN Workshop will address this lack by developing two CWAs addressing the following:

• Integration of additive manufacturing into conventional production for aluminium body-in-white components — Guidelines for manufacturing and structural performance validation
• Integration of additive manufacturing into conventional production for aluminium body-in-white components — Guidelines for environmental and economic assessment

More specifically, the first CWA will focus on the development process and advanced lab-scale testing procedures to evaluate crashworthiness. It will be useful for manufacturers, technology providers, engineering organisations, and research institutions. The second CWA will concentrate on the environment and economic assessment of hybrid manufacturing routes. It will enable the comparability of different hybrid manufacturing configurations while supporting the eco-design of vehicle components.

Taken together, these complementary guidelines will be a useful resource for those working in the field of hybrid manufacturing. The best-practice recommendations contained in the CWAs are intended to form a key basis for further research and innovation and be an important practical aid for industrial deployment.

The kick-off meeting for the Workshop is planned to take place remotely on 22 September 2026 from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm (CEST) (details in agenda document below).

All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the draft Project Plan using the commenting form below, to the Workshop secretary (UNE) Javier López Rodríguez (jlopezr@une.org) by September 19^th, 2026.

For more technical details, please refer to the draft Project Plan, which contains all relevant information. Comments or observations can be submitted via the dedicated commenting form below.

Download the documents:

• Workshop description and draft Project Plan
• Agenda of the kick-off meeting
• Registration form to the kick-off meeting
• Commenting form