Sauber Motorsport is expanding its additive manufacturing capacity with an order of 10 3D printers from 3D Systems.
The polymer systems, including eight SLA 750 Duals and two PSLA 270s, are set expand the Swiss motorsport engineering company’s rapid production capacity for wind tunnel parts made with 3D Systems’ Accura Composite PIV, Accura Xtreme, and Figure 4 ceramic-filled materials.
Marco Gehrig, head of mechanical & AM production, Sauber Group said, “The benchmarks conducted on the SLA 750 yielded parts with better surface quality and required less post-processing than the current machines in use. Our team is looking forward to using the industry’s most advanced SLA technology available to increase our production speed, quality and flexibility for wind tunnel parts, and accelerating our speed to track.”
The SLA 750 Dual two-laser system has been selected for its print size, speed, accuracy, and resolution for final parts with high finish and mechanical performance. The recently launched PSLA 270, described in a recent issue of TCT as the ‘best of both worlds’ thanks to a combination of the speed and materials flexibility of 3D Systems Figure 4 technology with the quality of SLA, is a high speed, projector-based mid-sized SLA system. Sauber is the first Formula 1 team to incorporate the technology.
Speaking about 3D Systems partnership with Sauber, Elvis Perez, SVP, global ISG sales, 3D Systems said, “3D Systems has a long-standing partnership with Sauber spanning nearly two decades, and our relationship as well as our technology portfolio have evolved over this time. I’m looking forward to continuing our journey with the Sauber team to push the boundaries of what’s possible in motorsports through the power of additive manufacturing.”
Sauber is already an avid user of 3D printing, including polymer and metal systems from 3D Systems, EOS and Additive Industries, and auxiliary systems from Rosler’s AM Solutions. 3D Systems’ technologies are also being used extensively in the motorsport and automotive sectors with teams like BWT Alpine F1 Team and Stewart Haas Racing using it to build components for wind tunnel testing and end-use parts.
