Racing team harnesses carbon-fiber 3D printing.
Stratasys has unveiled that motorsport leader, Team Penske is expanding its use of additive manufacturing (AM) for car testing, prototypes and production parts to gain competitive edge in the NASCAR, INDYCAR and IMSA circuits.
Leveraging Stratasys’ Carbon Fiber-filled Nylon 12 material, Team Penske’s 3D printing applications include wind tunnel development, composite tooling, jigs and fixtures, engineering prototypes, race car components, and most recently, lightweight mirror housings.
“While drivers are focused on outperforming one another during racing season, the real competition starts weeks before with design and development in the shop. The power to deploy 3D printing early in the process gives Team Penske a tremendous advantage in the production of better, stronger and more aerodynamic race car parts,” said Matt Gimbel, Team Penske Production Manager. “The faster parts get on the race track, the better our team competes: Stratasys technology enables us to do just that.”
Capitalising on materials with high-impact resistance and stiffness, Team Penske says it is able to accommodate aerodynamic loads, vibration and mechanical stresses found in motorsport environments, whilst reducing product iteration times. Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, the company’s manufacturing services division, is also a key supplier of FDM parts for Team Penske.
Stratasys Fortus 380mc
Stratasys Fortus 380mc
Launched at RAPID + TCT, Stratasys’ industrial-grade Fortus 380mc Carbon Fiber Edition is a lower cost FDM system dedicated to Carbon Fiber-filled Nylon 12 designed for the manufacture of tooling and fixtures in industries such as automotive, aerospace and healthcare. Stratasys will be providing a closer look at its Fortus 380mc Carbon Fiber Edition and Stratasys F900 Production 3D Printer at IMTS in Chicago this week.
Rich Garrity, President Americas at Stratasys commented: "We're delivering true industrial manufacturing solutions with unmatched levels of repeatability, reliability, and performance required for tooling and final part production. And this is being validated across industries with market leaders like Penske, Lockheed Martin, Audi and GKN Aerospace.”
Visitors to IMTS will be able to see the new Fortus 380mc and F900 Production 3D Printer, which features the largest build size of any FDM offering, printing live on booth #431600 (West Building). Attendees can also see the No. 2 Team Penske NASCAR Cup Car and a range of 3D printed parts.
