ROCK HILL, S.C., June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 3D Systems (NYSE:
DDD) announced that Sauber Motorsport AG, the company operating the
Alfa Romeo Sauber F1® Team, has added five new
ProX® 800 SLA 3D Printers to its headquarters and
engineering facilities in Hinwil, Switzerland, within the scope of a new
partnership agreement between 3D Systems and the Alfa Romeo Sauber
F1® Team.
Sauber Motorsport AG first started using 3D Systems' solutions
more than ten years ago when it built its Additive Manufacturing
department. The new SLA (stereolithography) systems join existing
3D Systems products used by the F1 team, including six SLS 3D
printers.
"When we decided to upgrade our SLA production capability, we
felt it was time to take our cooperation with 3D Systems to a
deeper level. We also needed to expand our capacity so replacing
some of the older 3D Systems SLA's with the higher throughput ProX
800 was the natural choice," says Christoph
Hansen, head of additive manufacturing, at Sauber. "We are
using 3D Systems' SLA solutions predominantly and extensively for
wind tunnel testing, but also for tooling for carbon laminating as
well as vacuum casting for silicon parts."
A Must-Have for Wind Tunnel Testing
Wind tunnel
testing is essential for the aerodynamic development of a Formula 1
race car. A 60 percent scale model of the car is produced for
testing in Sauber's own state of the art wind tunnel located at its
headquarters in Hinwil. This model is produced mostly with additive
manufacturing - 3D Systems' SLS and SLA 3D printers are used for
everything from front wings, brake ducts and suspension covers to
engine covers, internal ducts and hand deflectors.
"We can't really compare this process to conventional
manufacturing because it would be impossible to do it any other way
than 3D printing; we require many parts with superior surface
quality in a very short time," says Reto
Trachsel, head of aero design, at Sauber. "There have been
times when the wind tunnel, which is also used by our third party
customers, has been running 24/7 and we have been leveraging our 3D
Systems' solutions to produce 200 to 300 plastic parts per work
day."
Racing to the Finish with 3D Printed Tooling
Once the
development is approved, the final parts are produced, often in
carbon fiber using both conventionally manufactured and 3D printed
molding.
"The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1® Team draws on a variety of
3D Systems' SLA materials to produce tools for different
applications. For example, we laminate carbon parts using tools
produced in Bluestone material and we use the Xtreme material for
vacuum casting tools to produce the sealings," says Hansen. "Why do
we 3D print the tools instead of using conventional tooling
techniques? The answer is easy – we get the design complexity for
free! This is absolutely essential for parts like complex duct
systems."
"It takes a winning team to succeed in Formula One®
and the 3D Systems partnership with the Alfa Romeo Sauber
F1® Team matches the world's most advanced additive
manufacturing solutions with cutting edge automotive engineering.
By increasing production throughput with the addition of the 3D
Systems' ProX 800 SLA systems, Sauber can test more design
revisions and push the limits of race car innovation," says
Phil Schultz, senior vice president,
general manager, on demand solutions and plastics, 3D Systems.
"Formula One® is the ultimate proving ground for 3D
printing and the expertise we continue to acquire can be applied to
mainstream passenger vehicles as well as aerospace and other
industries."
Powering Engineering Services for 3rd Party
Customers
In addition to using 3D Systems' Additive
Manufacturing for its own prototyping and production requirements,
Sauber also leverages the 3D printers for its Engineering services.
This enables companies all over Europe to benefit from Sauber's expertise, 3D
printed precision mock-ups, jigs and fixtures, tooling and serial
production.
"Sauber Engineering is bringing race track performance to all
kinds of companies, large and small. Whether we're optimizing the
performance of our own F1 cars or helping our 3rd party
customers re-imagine opportunities from prototyping to serial
production, we're relying on our expanding arsenal of 3D Systems'
additive manufacturing solutions to give us a competitive edge,"
concludes Hansen.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release that are not statements
of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the company to be
materially different from historical results or from any future
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"will," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the
negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.
Forward-looking statements are based upon management's beliefs,
assumptions and current expectations and may include comments as to
the company's beliefs and expectations as to future events and
trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to
uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the
company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking
Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the company's periodic filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other
factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those
reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although
management believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking
statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of
future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to
be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or
results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included
are made only as the date of the statement. 3D Systems undertakes
no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements
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About 3D Systems
3D Systems is the originator of 3D
printing and an innovator of future 3D solutions. It has spent its
30-year history enabling professionals and companies to optimize
their designs, transform their workflows, bring groundbreaking
products to market and drive new business models. This is achieved
with the Company's best of breed digital manufacturing ecosystem.
It's comprised of plastic and metal 3D printers, print materials,
on demand manufacturing services and end-to-end manufacturing
software solutions. Combinations of these products and services
address a variety of advanced applications- ranging from Aerospace,
Automotive, and Consumer Goods to Medical, Dental, and Jewelry. For
example, 3D Systems' precision healthcare capabilities include
simulation, Virtual Surgical Planning, and printing of medical and
dental devices as well as patient-specific surgical
instruments. More information on the company is available
at www.3dsystems.com.
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