Hitachi Rail to 3D Print Spare Parts with the ROBOZE ARGO 500

Hitachi Rail, a division of the Japanese multinational conglomerate, will use the ROBOZE ARGO 500 printer for spare railway parts and prototypes. Among other uses for the ARGO 500, Hitachi Rail plans to develop the capacity to replace machined metal parts with parts printed from thermoplastics for the new fleet of its 8000-series railcars the company is set to deliver for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) by 2026.

In early 2021, the WMATA awarded Hitachi a contract worth over $2 billion for 256 all-electric, 8000-series rail cars to replace the 2000- and 3000-series fleets that have been in service since the early 1980s. Once Hitachi delivers the first order, WMATA ultimately has the option to purchase an additional 800 cars.

Hitachi is supporting the deal with a $70 million factory in Hagerstown, Maryland, less than 100 miles outside of Washington, DC. Hitachi’s ARGO 500 printers will be located at the Hagerstown site, as well as at the company’s Naples, Italy factory — fitting given ROBOZE’s status as an Italian company that also maintains an active presence in the US.

In a press release, COO of Hitachi Rail Group and CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy Luca D’Aquila, said, “Our partnership with ROBOZE underlines our commitment to delivering advanced, high-quality manufacturing for our customers. The partnership will enable us to harness 3D printing to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs for producing prototypes and railway spare parts. This additive solution will be used at our Naples site in Italy and our new digital factory in Washington County, Maryland, allowing us to respond effectively to our customers’ needs.”

Alessio Lorusso, the founder & CEO of ROBOZE, said, “ROBOZE continues to prove itself as a reliable and innovative partner for companies aiming to rethink their production and push the boundaries of progress through technology.”

With a Japanese multinational and an Italian OEM involved in setting up the capability to print spare parts on-demand near the point-of-need, this partnership highlights the extent to which the US’s reshoring efforts encompass the whole globe. As I’ve written many times previously concerning these same topics, reshoring isn’t a replacement for globalization but is, rather, the next phase in globalization’s evolution.

And of course, the industry involved brings home once again, just how much potential there is for additive manufacturing (AM) in the rail sector. Especially given the potential strategic alignment between rail and AM when it comes to decarbonization, railway manufacturers will only increase their interest in incorporating AM into their supply chains in years ahead. Deals like this one should become commonplace.