McLaren to 3D print parts at the track

[thegreenhell]

McLaren to 3D-print parts at Bahrain F1 Grand Prix trackside

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39522103

[hornetrider]

thegreenhell said:

McLaren to 3D-print parts at Bahrain F1 Grand Prix trackside

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39522103

Do they have blueprints for Mercedes engines?


























Oh, come on... someone had to

[Ahonen]

Red Bull had two (!) rapid prototyping machines at each circuit back in 2013. I remember a mate who worked in there telling me about it, to my bewilderment.

[SHutchinson]

Ahonen said:

Red Bull had two (!) rapid prototyping machines at each circuit back in 2013. I remember a mate who worked in there telling me about it, to my bewilderment.

Yes, but back when 3d printing was called rapid prototyping it wasn't cool so no one talked about it.

[PhillipM]

Yes, teams have been 3d printing parts at the track for a while, Mclaren included, sounds like a bit of PR...

[Order66]

PhillipM said:

Yes, teams have been 3d printing parts at the track for a while, Mclaren included, sounds like a bit of PR...

indeed.........look squirrel!

[hairyben]

What parts is this useful for, given most of the car I believe is carbon fibre or exotic metal?

[Evilex]

It is possible to 3d print in metallic substances. Titanium, for example. I've been looking into it for a project. The companies in question quote all the usual material specifications such a Young's Modulus, shearing loads etc.
If the stress requirements of the part fall within those failure loads, print away.
I guess you can also experiment with mixing exotic materials for the same strength but better performance in other areas; weight, thermal properties, and so on.

[JohnoVR6]

hairyben said:

What parts is this useful for, given most of the car I believe is carbon fibre or exotic metal?

Stratasys press release said:

Some of the 3D printed parts designed to improve performance which have been applied to the 2017 race car include:

Hydraulic Line Bracket
McLaren Honda has 3D printed a structural bracket to attach the hydraulic line on the MCL32 race car using Stratasys FDM technology, leveraging a Fortus 450mc Production 3D Printer with carbon-fiber reinforced nylon material (FDM Nylon 12CF). The bracket was produced in just four hours compared to an estimated two weeks to create using traditional manufacturing processes.

Flexible Radio Harness Location Boot
A new 2-way communication and data system was recently added to the MCL32 race car but the cable proved distracting to the driver. Taking advantage of the Stratasys J750 3D Printer’s ability to print in flexible materials, McLaren designed and 3D printed a rubber-like boot to join the harness wires for the communication system. Three different designs were iterated and 3D printed in one day and the final component was 3D printed in just two hours which allowed the comfortable radio harness assembly to be used in the first Grand Prix race of the 2017 season.

Carbon Fiber Composite Brake Cooling Ducts
To efficiently control the brake component temperatures, McLaren Honda 3D printed sacrificial tools to create hollow composite brake cooling ducts. The wash-out cores were 3D printed using ST-130 soluble material, developed specifically for the application, and then wrapped with carbon-fiber reinforced composite material and autoclave-cured at elevated temperatures. The final result is a tubular structure with very smooth internal surface finishes to ensure the required airflow to brakes, whilst maintaining maximum aerodynamic and car performance.

Rear Wing Flap
A large rear wing flap extension designed to increase rear downforce was manufactured in carbon fiber-reinforced composites using a 3D printed lay-up tool produced on the FDM-based Fortus 900mc Production 3D Printer. The team 3D printed the 900mm wide, high temperature (>350°F/177°C) mold in ULTEM 1010 for the autoclave-cured composite structure in just three days, saving time in a critical limited testing period.

[FourWheelDrift]

hairyben said:

What parts is this useful for, given most of the car I believe is carbon fibre or exotic metal?

MarkForged have been 3d printing with carbon fibre since 2014 - https://markforged.com/

[Mr Tidy]

Given where McLaren Honda are right now I think 2-D printing might be too advanced for them!

They seem to have more significant issues - unless you can print some BHP (Honda don't seem to be able to do that).

[hairyben]

Fascinating, my knowledge of 3D printing was of the more early machines and its obviously come on a long way.

[mikecassie]

Do you think they have time to print a driver in time for Monaco?