Driving innovation at Autosport International Show 2024

Last month we joined Great British Sports Cars (GBS) on its stand at Autosport International Show 2024, at the NEC, Birmingham. As Europe’s biggest motorsport show, this was a great opportunity for us to raise awareness of how additive manufacturing (AM) can transform automotive production. By bringing the UltiMaker S7 and a selection of printed components, we demonstrated to visitors first-hand examples of real life jigs and fixtures.

At the NEC, motoring enthusiasts were greeted by display cars from all levels of motorsport, including karting, off-roading and elite series like F1. This was our second year at the show working alongside GBS, and this year we showcased two of GBS’s flagship racing cars to visitors — its FIA-approved Zero Race Car and the Zero Demonstrator. The Zero is a high-end kit car that customers can purchase pre-built from the factory, or in component form so that they can build it themselves.

Having the Zero on the stand was important for Tri-Tech 3D because its dashboard clock is secured by a plastic housing that GBS printed using 3D Print Bureau — demonstrating the subtle contributions of AM to motorsport.

?

Why we attended

More and more automotive manufacturers are now recognising additive as a credible manufacturing option, just like CNC machining. Respect for the technology has grown, and we wanted to demonstrate its true potential while at the NEC. We joined GBS at Autosport International Show again this year so that we could showcase the different applications of AM in motoring and Autosport, and the results of this technology.

?

On Stand 3850 in Hall 2, we had a range of parts that we’d printed using the five Stratasys AM technologies — stereolithography (SL), PolyJet, P3, FDM and selective absorption fusion (SAF). We set out to challenge the image of AM as purely being a prototyping tool, and open visitor’s eyes to how Stratasys AM systems can produce effective custom parts that could one day be used on, say, a kit car or an F1 racing car. We enjoyed exhibiting, and it was great to see so many fresh faces come to the stand.

?

The future of automotive production

Any automotive and motorsport manufacturer producing bespoke or highly specialised vehicles will typically deal in low-volume production. This lends itself to 3D printing, a largely digital process where manufacturers can simply modify the computer aided design (CAD) file to accommodate the customer’s needs. Even larger players like Rolls Royce are now using 3D printing in some way because it enables mass customisation.

?

At the show, we saw many classic cars that are no longer in production, which brings us to another application of 3D printing — reverse engineering. Using scanning technology, manufacturers can capture important sections of an old automotive part, import the resulting mesh into CAD software, adapt the file as needed and then print a new design.?

?

When looking at 3D printing, all five Stratasys 3D printing technologies can support automotive production in different ways. For example, SL remains one of the most popular 3D printing technologies in automotive, and the industry saw something of an SL boom in the 1990s. 30 years later, this technology is now supporting the pinnacle of automotive — F1. McClaren Racing has been using the Stratasys Neo800 SL printer to produce around 9,000 parts per year, from full-size aerodynamic surfaces to high-accuracy embedded sensor housings.

?

The applications of Stratasys technology don’t stop there. Its PolyJet 3D printers, which create precise parts using photopolymers, UV light and inkjet heads, are ideal for producing prototypes. This is because the technology can produce parts with complex geometries, intricate details and full-colour combinations and transparencies. FDM systems, meanwhile, can produce jigs, fixtures and other tools that can support production. On the stand, we had a plastic FDM-printed dash housing that contained a clock, which would be installed in GBS’s Zero car.

?

There’s also Programmable PhotoPolymerisation, or P3, printing. This technology uses light, temperature, pull forces and pneumatics to create repeatable injection moulding-like parts, with similar quality and surface finishes. By delivering such quality, P3 technology can support with the mass production of functional end-use parts. Similarly, selective absorption fusion (SAF) can produce large quantities of single production part designs with industrial-grade quality.??

?

For more information on how an AM system can benefit your automotive part production, visit the Tri-Tech 3D website.

?

If you enjoyed this article, please like, comment and share with your network. You can also keep up to date with AM industry trends by subscribing to our newsletter “More than machines”.