Jonathan Neale, McLaren Technology Group COO (on left) and Ilan Levin, Stratasys CEO.
Stratasys has signed a four-year partnership deal with McLaren Racing to bring its 3D printing expertise to Formula 1. The agreement sees the additive manufacturing leader named as the Official Supplier of 3D Printing Solutions to the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 team as it ramps up its rapid manufacturing capacity at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, UK.
Under the agreement, Stratasys will supply McLaren Racing with its latest FDM and PolyJet based 3D printing solutions and cutting-edge materials for visual and functional prototyping, production tooling including composite tooling, and customised production parts.
“We’re delighted to be working with such a restless, visionary and ambitious partner,” Stratasys CEO Ilan Levin said. “McLaren Racing will be leveraging our nearly 30 years of 3D printing and additive manufacturing experience to stay at the forefront of motorsport technological development. Stratasys will also gain invaluable feedback and insights from working with ultra-high performance automotive applications, which we can then apply to our mainstream automotive and aerospace customers. Equally, McLaren Racing will benefit from the superior productivity, engineering precision and wide gamut of materials that come with our 3D printing solutions.”
Eric Boullier, racing director of McLaren Racing commented: “The ability to rapidly model, build and evaluate new components is an invaluable asset for any fast-moving and dynamic racing organisation. But our new partnership with Stratasys will not only increase our output in that area, but also allow us to dynamically explore and utilise the cutting-edge of Stratasys’ new 3D printing innovations and solutions. It has become clear that motorsport’s reliance on rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing, and the ability to radically cut time to market, is increasing, and we look to being well served by our new alliance with Stratasys.”
John Cooper, commercial and finance director of McLaren Racing, added: “We’ve already established an extremely close and fruitful relationship with the team at Stratasys, and I’m personally looking forward to expanding that relationship in the future. Stratasys’ expertise in the rapid tooling and manufacturing arena is second to none, and we firmly believe that we can forge a partnership that will prove extremely valuable to both of us.”
Stratasys has a long history in the automotive industry working with companies like Opel to reduce manufacturing tool production costs by up to 90% and Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd, for the mass customisation of end-use car parts.
