【3D Printing Application】The Secret to Producing Racing Champions? More Flexible 3D Printing Process!
How to use 3D printed parts in engines? 3D printing technology is commonly used for prototyping and design development. In the fields of automotive parts and factory machinery, racing is one of the fastest and most technologically advanced sports in the world!
Hartley Engines and Motorsport is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures high-end engines and parts for motorsports and small automotive companies. Their clients have won numerous championships in racing competitions and have received many awards for innovation in racing engineering. In the past, most of their development work was highly confidential and only for specific clients. Recently, they have expanded their business to offer engine kits to other engine developers and started to retail more parts directly to consumers worldwide.
Nelson Hartley, owner of Hartley Engines, said, "We realized that we couldn't build engines for everyone because there simply wasn't enough time, but we found that by offering the parts we build, we could better serve more people." One of their advantages is their ability to design and develop products very quickly and prepare them for production. After introducing 3D printing equipment to produce parts, their manufacturing process has also been elevated to a new level.
Nelson (right) discusses design concepts at a seminar
Nelson and his team have been researching "how to use 3D printed parts in engines" for years. After introducing new 3D printing equipment, they redesigned the aluminum parts used for the intake manifold throttle body. "The benefit of 3D printing is the flexibility of design. We attach great importance to the shape of the intake manifold. With 3D printing, we can create extremely complex curves and shapes that are consistent with the model."
A 3D printer cannot replace a CNC machine, but similarly, anyone who says that production work cannot be done on a 3D printer is also wrong. As the business grows, new methods are needed to address the issues of production and R&D speed. "The cost of a 3D printer is very low, 1/30th the cost of our 5-axis CNC machine, and the parts we produce on it are just as valuable to consumers... So, even if the production speed of parts is slower, running multiple 3D printers simultaneously can be more efficient than CNC machines in some cases, with a very high return on investment!"
"We used to spend a lot of time designing our machines and building machinery to process or manufacture a part. Now, with a 3D printer, we just need to press the start button, no other tools are needed."
Racing engine with hybrid 3D printed parts
3D printing is also used to manufacture the turbocharger plenum. After using a 3D printer, the quality of the printed parts has been excellent, and the performance is surprisingly good! Nelson said, "Before this, we spent 3-4 years on development, and since we started using the INTAMSYS FUNMAT HT, we have solved 99% of the problems we encountered previously. The quality of the parts is amazing, and we have already started production!"
Now, larger sizes can be made, with more connection space and faster production speed. In the future, a large number of intake manifolds and engines will also be designed using this new manufacturing method. Did you enjoy this sharing? Learn more about 3D printers now, and follow 3DMart regularly to receive the latest application examples! Contact us immediately to answer your 3D printing questions.
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