MATERIALS
294 locomotives. The component was essential to the vehicle’s safe operation as without it, lubricant could leak from the wheel causing damage to the bearings. Despite this model being over 50 years old, the Arc605 from Rolf Lenk, a German machinery manufacturer, produced a replacement piece for the locomotive. The original cast for the wheelset bearing cover measured 374mm in diameter, 78mm in height, and weighed 11.5kg, taking up to nine months for delivery. Gefertec’s arc605 system only
requires eight hours to produce the component, rather than the nine-month lead time previously. The German federal railway authority’s materials laboratory tests consistently found the product to be of high quality. Elsewhere, rolling stock
manufacturer Alstom has also taken full advantage of 3D printing’s capabilities for its trains, with over 150,000 parts being manufactured this way. This process has seen a massive scale-up from its first introduction in 2016 when 3D printing wasn’t being used to produce parts for the company’s rail vehicles. Alstom now produces 40,000 pieces a year through 3D printing, both spare parts
Roboze’s Argo500 3D printer
3D printed rail components by Alstom
and new designs. Polymers, ceramics and metals are
the main focus points of Alstom’s 3D printing capabilities. Fire and smoke-compliant materials, EN45545 for Europe and NFPA130 for North America, are available within Alstom’s 20-strong validated polymer portolfio. Meanwhile, aluminium, stainless steel, high-performance steel and titanium are available for metal printing. This range of materials allows the
company to produce a wide array of products for rail companies, such as a
headlamp case for a high-speed train in France, a part in a soft material to be installed into an air conditioning evacuation tube for a Spanish metro, a jig to ease screwing holes in car body shells in Germany, and a bogie steel cover in the Nordics.
PRINTING THE FUTURE Using 3D printing for train repairs and spare parts can bring down costs and reduce downtime. Economically, 3D printing has massive advantages, as there is no minimum order required as well as no warehouse needed for spare part storage. Per unit, costs rise using 3D printing, but the total cost actually drops for replacement pieces as only small orders are required. The break- even mark for plastics is roughly 2,000 parts, whilst metals is 200. Additionally, less scrap material
is produced using 3D printing methods whilst they also use less energy, as only the quantity required is produced. Each tonne of CO2 produced in the future may come with associated costs, at which point 3D printing will provide a more CO2- friendly alternative to traditional manufacturing. Looking ahead, 3D printing’s
influence on the locomotive industry may stretch wider than just rail vehicles, as novel ‘Printfrastructure’ technology has been deployed in London on the construction of the HS2 railway line. Concrete has been ‘printed’ on-site using computers, rather than being transported as slabs, in order to build the infrastructure of the new train lines.
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