Protolabs
DMLS Titanium Exhaust Assembly
Harley Davidson Factory Racing team’s success on the racetrack is being propelled by additive manufacturing, according to Protolabs.
The team is said to be relying on the digital manufacturing company to quickly implement new part designs that increase speed and performance, turning learnings from races into new prototypes and final parts in the space of week.
Harley Davidson factory team racing boss Jason Kehl commented, “For us to be successful we need to respond rapidly to what we are learning on the racetrack and we need a partner that can bring these ideas to life in just a few days. As a digital manufacturer, Protolabs allows us to make those weekly incremental improvements that lead to season-long success.”
The technology is said to be earning the team more podium finishes in the King of the Bagger series of motorcycle racing, which sees touring motorcycles from Harley-Davidson and Indian adapted to race at speeds exceeding 180 mph. For comparison, the production Harley-Davidson Road Glide weighs up to 960 lbs., while King of the Baggers bikes race at 620 lbs. The weight savings afforded by AM are said to increase speed and performance critical lean angle while maintaining race weight.
Protolabs highlighted a 3D printed exhaust, made with direct laser metal sintering in titanium which enabled tighter turns on the Harley Davidson tourer. Every ¼ degree extra lean angle is said to shave 1/10 of a second in a corner, and with some racetracks featuring as many as 14 turns a lap, every degree is crucial. The exhaust components on the bike were historically tube welded and were said to have limited the team’s efforts to maximise lean angle. According to Protolabs, the team leveraged AM's design freedom to create exhaust components that maintained the foot pedal position most comfortable to the rider, and then used its CNC machining capacity to modify the cam cover, rear break pedal, and rear break caliper to accommodate the new design.
The wider motorsport sector is an avid adopter of 3D printing technologies. Last year, McLaren's Formula One team McLaren Racing was reportedly 3D printing 9,000 parts a year with Stratasys stereolithography technology, while Roboze, an Italian manufacturer’s super polymers and composites-focused additive manufacturing technologies, was chosen by the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team as its technology partner through to the 2025 season.
