Jad Sherif Wri2
Canadian GP Friday 09/06/17
Sauber F1 race car
Formula 1 is no stranger to the advantages of additive manufacturing. From McLaren to Ferrari, the heavyweights are all implementing 3D printing in some way, whether for custom tooling or to facilitate end-use parts.
The latest team to expand its additive investment is Switzerland-based team, Sauber F1, which recently penned a three-year technology partnership with Additive Industries to ramp up the production of metal parts for its race-ready cars and third party applications.
The wheels were set into motion at last year’s formnext powered by TCT where Additive Industries debuted its MetalFAB1 technology, a metal powder bed fusion technology that can be characterised and targeted to meet the demands of regulated industries. Sauber, a user of polymer 3D printing technology for over a decade, met with the Dutch manufacturer at the show and stated its ambition to expand its in-source 3D printing capabilities with the addition of a metal technology.
Additive Industries CEO, Daan Kersten said that Sauber recognised “a growing importance in metal additive manufacturing parts for F1”. As a result, Sauber agreed to be the launch customer for the MetalFAB1 Process and Application Development Tool, an entry level version of the MetalFAB1 machine designed for process and application development and prototyping. The idea is to give first-time users the freedom to gain experience with metal additive manufacturing and then scale up to series production, which can be done easily due to the MetalFAB1’s modular architecture.
Sauber will start off developing its process with one in-house system, initially getting to grips with the technology and producing test components to ensure that parts comply with rigid standards. The plan is to then progress to a full-size production line system with multiple modules for series production. As part of the deal, Sauber will invest in two systems over the course of two years which will operate in four different metal powders, two on each machine.
“The modular approach allows them to invest in a process application development tool and then later on expand,” Daan explained. “Our system is the only one that can do that. It allows you to really build the system as the demand grows.”
MetalFAB1 Process & Application Development Tool
Due to the fast-paced nature of F1, teams needs to be able to respond quickly and having this rapid manufacturing capability in-house will be allow Sauber to produce parts both for its own internal and F1 cars, and act as a suppler to third-parties.
“Since this innovative fabrication technology is still in the early stages of industrialisation, it is an ideal moment for us to take on this challenge with our new partner,” Sauber F1 Team CEO & Team Principal, Monisha Kaltenborn, commented when the partnership was first announced. “By doing so, we will gain and develop the necessary know-how in this area. It is our mission to set new standards.”
Additive Industries will be working alongside the team to ensure maximum knowledge transfer and assist them in the steep learning curve in optimising parts specifically for metal AM whilst feeding that experience back into their own product development. The company has already made strides in other industries such as aerospace, securing Airbus APWorks as one of its key Beta customers last year, and also in the industrial equipment manufacturing space with United Grinding Group, selling out its first phase of systems three months after its market launch.
“This is really the way we like to work with our customers,” Daan added. “We are not aiming to sell systems to just anyone we really want to team up with companies that have the ambition to scale for series production and to help them. We want to really understand their applications so we can also improve our process and equipment to match their requirements.”
Visit Additive Industries at TCT Show 2017 on 26-28th September at NEC, Birmingham, Hall 3, stand A24.
This article was first published in the Automotive feature inside TCT Europe Edition - Volume 25, Issue 4. Download the magazine for FREE on iOS and Android.
