Sep 5, 2014
3D Print Show that opened in London Thursday showcases the many uses of 3D printing.
British motor racing team, Strakka Racing showcased its ultra-cool World Endurance Championship Strakka DOME S103 LMP2 race car which can reach speeds of 320 kilometers per hour and is set to be entered in the Le Mans 24-hour race.
Motorsports is such a competitive industry that if you're slow in bringing something to the track, you fall behind, and once you fall behind it's almost impossible to catch up," said Dan Walmsley, engineer and team principal for Strakka Racing.
The company has partnered with Stratasys to produce parts using 3D printing, from wind-tunnel testing of scale model parts to fully-functional prototypes, as well as 3D printed end-use parts used directly on the S103 LMP2 car in an actual race environment.
"So we've got aerodynamic components on the car such as the front dive planes, the air intake, interior components. We found that the material properties have recently moved forwards to a point where they're stiff enough and strong enough and light enough to function as a fully finished production component on a race car," explained Walmsley to VOA news.
Also on display at the exhibit is smaller drones developed by Dutch producer Aerialtronics.
"At the moment we're working on drone-to-drone communication, that is where a drone can talk with another drone and knows where he is in the area, at this stage we're developing this. For the future, drones will only get smarter and smaller and will do stuff we cannot imagine now," said Joost Hezemans, head of design for drone manufacturer Aerialtronics.
The UK-based film specialist FBFX Ltd has increased its business since using 3D printing technology in-house. Grant Pearmain, FBFX Managing Director said that 3D printing allows them to take 3D data and quickly 3D print a model for their customers to hold in their hands and make design changes if necessary. While a traditional model-maker could typically take weeks to produce models with complex geometries, however, armed with a digital toolkit, FBFX was able to quickly create a 3D CAD file and 3D print a model in just a number of hours using 3D printers.
Naomi Kaempfer, creative director of Stratsys, a U.S. manufacturer of 3D printers, says manufacturing in 3D printing is still evolving.
"We are still waiting for 3D printed materials that have the right durability and the strength that textile fiber allows. We have to understand that 3D printing is an additive layered technology, and in order to create fiber strength you actually need to have a continuous fiber going through the material," said Kaempfer.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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Is that mask at the end of Monica Puig's face? Monica Puig was at the event?
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