Computer Solutions


4 3D printing promises to make short-run parts that are not economic using traditional methods, but potential users must watch out for hype. Lou Reade reports.


4 L’impression en trois dimensions promet de créer des pièces pour une utilisation à court terme, qui ne seraient pas économiques en combinaison avec les méthodes traditionnelles, mais les utilisateurs potentiels doivent se méfier de l’hypermédiatisation, déclare Lou Reade.


4 3D-Druck verspricht die Herstellung von kurzfristigen, unwirtschaftlichen Teilen mit traditionellen Methoden, aber mögliche Anwender sollten sich vor einem Hype hüten. Lou Reade berichtet.


Printing in three dimensions


T


Fig. 1. The SAVING project says that a titanium seat buckle, made using 3D printing, could save £2m over the life of an aircraft.


echniques like laser sintering and stereolithography have come a long way since their early days as methods of prototyping. While still used to make models, they are increasingly


employed to manufacture final parts. Every market sector that relies on manufacturing


- including automotive, aerospace and medical - is now using 3D printing to make components. And as materials and techniques improve, this is likely to increase.


Short-run parts


Not surprisingly, the racing car industry has adopted 3D printing techniques to make short-run parts quickly and cheaply. Automotive consultancy Prodrive is using fused deposition modelling (FDM) to make parts for the Mini John Cooper rally car. The company began its adventure in 3D printing in a small way, taking delivery of a single Stratasys machine on a three-month trial. The first component that it made in this way was for an air intake system. Paul Doe, chief designer at Prodrive WRC, told


delegates at the TCT conference: “We wanted to try something new, but not expose ourselves to an expensive solution that did not work.” This led to the creation of more parts, including an electronic driver display that indicates which


gear the car is in. It must be connected up to other systems. “We ended up with a part that could not be made in any other way,” he says. The company had considered alternatives,


such as using a carbon fibre composite - but Doe estimates this would have cost £300, plus a tooling cost of around £1600. The FDM-made part cost £45, with no tooling costs. Prodrive also designed and built - in a few


days - an aerodynamic housing for a microwave transmitter that streams pictures live on the internet. Later, there was an air engine intake that was


made in four pieces and assembled. Then there was a thin roof vent deflector that brings air into the cabin, made by FDM and vacuum forming. There are plans to extend this even further:


while the 2012 version of the car had 18 parts made using 3D printing, this year’s model is expected to have more. In future, Doe estimates that each car will have


more than 100 3D-printed parts. Prodrive is one of the world’s largest and most


successful motorsport and vehicle technology businesses with annual sales of around £100 million and employing 700 staff in the UK, India, China and Australia. While the company’s roots are in motorsport, more than half its business is now involved in developing niche cars and new technology for road vehicles. In motorsport, the company has won six World


Rally titles with Subaru; five British Touring Car Championships with BMW, Alfa Romeo and Ford; and three class wins at Le Mans, most recently in June 2007 and June 2008 with Aston Martin Racing and in 2003 with a privately-backed Ferrari team. Besides running Aston Martin Racing in


international sports car racing, MINI in the World Rally Championship, it runfd Ford Performance Racing in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, as well as supporting hundreds of customers in national and international series, including the World Rally Championship. Its specialist manufacturing operation also


works with the motor, aerospace, defence, marine and other high tech sectors to produce machined, fabricated and composite parts.


Real deal


Luxury car maker Bentley Motors has relied on 3D printing for both prototyping and making short-run products.


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