While we are extremely focused here at 3DPrint.com on following the important strides 3D printing is offering throughout the world in truly helping people and progress, we also greatly value its role today in education—and there’s nothing better than seeing that mixed with an enormous amount of fun, as well as adrenaline flow, in the case of a team of students from ISU competing and racing against other college teams in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International Formula car competition.
Before these excited students could begin building their open-wheel racecar, however, there were a number of questions to consider in the geometry and design such as the level of complexity, how much it should weigh, and what real forces would be at hand acting upon the car on the track. As they began the 3D design process, the team decided to turn to 3D printing for fabrication of the intake, dashboard, and heel cups—all as they set out to create the CR-21, which would hopefully be the best Cyclone ever turned out by ISU.
This is certainly not the first racecar we’ve seen with 3D printed parts, as students at University of Connecticut relied on 3D Systems for help in perfecting a month-long project to create a racecar for their multiple-race SAE competition in Michigan in May and we saw the example of a historical replica made recently by Audi. At ISU, however, the heat was on to outdo themselves, and for assistance in making the 3D printed parts, the students used a Stratasys Fortus 450mc with ULTEM 1010 as their material, due to its superior thermal, chemical, and strength properties.
Not only was excellence in design through customization a factor, the students also had a leg up when it came to speed in production. Their new intake was fabricated quite expediently in comparison to the way it was done ‘back in the old days’ without 3D printing. And as we all know, that certainly wasn’t long ago! Without the progressive 3D technology before, an intake was created out of aluminum and had to be machined, milled, and welded. Amidst all of this excitement, challenge and fun, the students too were amassing an extremely valuable new skill set that can be used to solve real world design and engineering problems, bringing the educational aspects full circle.
In making both the heel cups for greater driver comfort and stability and the dashboard (connected to the chassis for supporting the required switches and buttons), the students decided to use ABS 3D printing filament as it allowed for the strength they needed, and was economical for the project.
In the end, the team created a racecar unlike any they had ever built, thanks to 3D printing, and they learned firsthand how it allows for innovation not previously possible, lighter weight components, thinner walls in vehicle construction, less components overall, and better performance due to customized geometries. Check out the video below to see the students’ results, as well as enjoying their awesome soundtrack mashup! Discuss this at the 3D Printed Racecar forum at 3DPB.com.
[Source/Images: Stratasys]