ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Student motor racing team wins with additive suspension


When independent club Rennteam Uni Stuttgart was due to take part in the Formula Student racing series – a competition for young engineers across Europe – they faced the challenge of how to optimise a critical part within the team’s car. The student engineers were supported by EOS and deployed an AM process in order to build the knuckle or axle-pivot – the part that connects the wheel axle with the wishbones and the track rod via a bearing. The


breaking system is also attached. As the part takes all the force


and momentum absorbed by the vehicle, its stability is paramount for ensuring the safety of the car. Likewise, every gram increases lap times and the less mass, the better the suspension. Finding the balance between stiffness and mass was not an easy task. ‘The wheel mount we’d been using over the last few years had already achieved a good balance between weight


found that the results were quicker, cheaper, lighter, and stiffer through the use of laser AM and titanium metal. Salter believes this was due in part to the fact that low volumes of high value parts were being produced and that, in mainstream industries, such as automotive, the benefits of laser AM wouldn’t be as pronounced. ‘Metal laser sintering isn’t ready for mainstream industries as it’s quite a slow process,’ he explained, ‘but it does allow you to make parts you couldn’t have considered manufacturing before. As a result, you do end up with much more complex components.’


and rigidity, but we were sure we could improve on it,’ explained Yannick Löw from the Rennteam Uni Stuttgart. ‘We produced the part using the classic precision casting process. This, of course, led to limitations in freedom of form, which meant that the part’s potential could never be fully realised. Even back then we’d decided that for the 2012 season we’d investigate innovative ways of manufacturing the steering stub axle.’


The team of engineers began


by using CAD software from Autodesk Within to match the part perfectly to the structural requirements, through the optimisation of latticed micro-structures of variable densities. ‘By the simplified, so called, 3D-Print process, our machine honed powdered metal granules, with the help of a laser, layer by layer, into the required part,’ explained Nikolai Zaepernick, business development manager,


is quite appropriate for AM because you then avoid the need to make expensive tooling


The very low volume


expensive tooling for a small volume of parts. Motorsport, medical and some areas of aerospace are unique areas where additive manufacturing can have a real benefit,’ he added, noting that compared to the other sectors motorsport has the added benefit of not having to navigate as many regulatory standards. Tis enables designers to progress the technology far quicker than industries like aerospace and at much lower risk. Furthermore, he added,


while it takes quite a long time to manufacture a single part using laser AM, what is removed from the process in terms of


Freedom to explore With a background in mechanical engineering, Salter is keen to emphasise the opportunity laser additive manufacturing provides. ‘In motorsport, engineers are given a lot of freedom to explore what the best method is for achieving a higher performance component, whereas in traditional automotive you have to design parts that are the most cost effective and are able to be mass produced,’ he commented. ‘Tere’s probably a wider appreciation for the parts being slightly more expensive if they’re higher performance, so in motor racing we’re trying to make things lighter, stiffer and more aerodynamic, and laser AM allows us to do that. ‘Te applications go from scale model wind


tunnel parts through to parts that go on the final car, and with most Formula One or Le Mans teams you’re probably talking about a production run of four to six parts. Te very low volume is quite appropriate for AM, because you then avoid the need to make


16 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 30 • SPRING 2016


Automotive at EOS. By using AM, the


development and manufacturing times were significantly reduced and the process, from design through to fabrication, was more precise. As a result, the weight of the part was reduced by 660g, leading to faster lap times and reduced fuel consumption – and a victory at the Hockenheimring that crowned the Stuttgart race team as Formula Student Germany Champions 2012.


design and tooling manufacture makes the total time from design to parts installed on a race car far shorter. By streamlining that process, designers can increase their rate of development, and in turn make their cars faster than competitors. In conclusion, Salter clarified the


misconception that AM allows engineers to make whatever they want, wherever they want – which really isn’t the case. ‘You still need to have an engineering design to work from, the raw material to process, and the correct quality control in place,’ he said. ‘Ultimately it all comes down to the design level, as you need to design your part to be additively manufactured in order to realise all the raw benefits from that process.’


The new additively made racing car door assembly was designed to be lightweight @lasersystemsmag | www.lasersystemseurope.com


Strakka Racing and KW Special Projects


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