News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Spanish automotive company SEAT has transformed its prototyping operations with the launch of an upgraded Prototype Development Center (PDC) in Martorell. The additional PDC facility, which spans 3,000 square meters, unifies the automaker’s pre-production operations into a single location. Central to the new location’s operations is a new, cutting-edge 3D Printing Lab.
A lot of work went into this incredible success for Scuderia AlphaTauri but 3D printing with DSM Somos materials also played a part. Just last month the F1 team reported that it started using Somos PerFORM Reflect AM material to cut production time up to 30 percent, enhancing testing processes and increasing the speed and frequency of aerodynamic improvements. The results are now there for everyone to see after Sunday’s incredible victory by Pierre Gasly. And someone should be taking notes.
Though it may best be known for its tires, Continental AG has its fingers in many pies in the automotive sector, including part production, connectivity, automated driving and mobility services. These business areas are tackled by the company’s Continental Engineering Services (CES) division, which has been a keen adopter of additive manufacturing in recent years.
After working with Team Penske in five championship and over 70 race wins since 2017, Stratasys has announced an enhanced technical partnership with Penske. The parties have entered into a new multi-year partnership agreement, which allows Stratasys to maintain its technical support for the four systems currently deployed in Penske’s shop.
Sterling Backus’ 3D printed Lamborghini was one of 3dpbm’s biggest stories ever and rightly so. The project is truly amazing: to think that someone could 3D print several parts of an Aventador replica’s body at home, on basic desktop systems (used as a base shape for composites), and actually build a working car seemed impossible. And yet, here it is: the (almost) final product looks truly amazing and it is a great inspiration for STEM education, which is exactly what Backus set out to promote.
In yet another example of additive manufacturing in the automotive sector, Chevrolet announced that its 3D printing racing program supported over 80,000 miles of racing. This milestone is indicative of the competitive and manufacturing efficiency derived from AM products. Chevrolet’s announcement pairs with this Network’s recent reporting on Team Penske’s and Oxford Brookes Racing’s implementation of AM parts in their race cars.
Three months after its foundation, Additive Drives GmbH, developers of additively manufactured electric motor components, obtained a seven-digit (€1.5 million) seed investment from the Munich-based investor AM Ventures Holding GmbH. The financing round is intended to further advance the market launch. In addition to scaling the business in the area of prototyping, high-performance series applications are also to be enabled. By means of 3D printing, Additive Drives takes electric machines to unexpected levels of performance and efficiency.
When Rolls Royce makes a car it looks at every detail so that you don’t have to. In order to maintain the minimalistic, luxurious style of the original, the new Rolls Royce Ghost Extended went the extra mile to develop unique part geometries that would enable the increased legroom without compromising the car’s style. In order to achieve this, the British car company made intensive use of 3D printed parts.
Scaled Ltd, a UK firm specializing in large format 3D printing via a robotic extrusion process, unveiled its Project Chameleon 3D printed electric vehicle. The company started working on the Chameleon vehicle less than half a year ago, aiming to demonstrate how the way vehicles are manufactured can be revolutionized through AM.
With the technological concept of the Bugatti Bolide, the french luxury car manufacturer is now providing the answer to the question “what if Bugatti built a radically light vehicle around its iconic 8.0-liter w16 engine?” The experimental study of the Bugatti Bolide is a track-oriented hyper sports car featuring a w16 engine derived from series production as powertrain combined with a minimal body for maximum downforce. It, therefore, promises to offer the ultimate Bugatti performance kick.