Angel Trains, one of Britain’s leading train leasing companies,
has collaborated with engineering consultancy ESG Rail, and 3D
printing technology provider Stratasys, to produce four fully
approved interior components using 3D printing, also known as
Additive Manufacturing.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181210005455/en/
3D Printed Grab Handle (Photo: Business
Wire).
The components approved for service include an arm rest, grab
handle and seat back table – all of which will now be trialled on
in-service passengertrains in 2019.
The aim of this collaboration is to leverage additive
manufacturing to help address the issue of obsolete parts, reduce
whole life rolling stock costs and enable vehicles to remain in
passenger service for longer. This innovation also has the added
potential to lower costs for train operating companies, as they can
produce low run parts as needed, rather than mass manufacturing
vast quantities.
All parts have been designed for additive manufacturing and 3D
printed using Stratasys’ Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)
technology. In addition, the components have been structurally
assessed by ESG Rail for manufacturing using Stratasys 3D printed
tooling and the company’s advanced, rail-certified thermoplastic
materials. The components will soon commence in-service passenger
trials, which are expected to last until the summer of 2019.
Traditionally, standard thermoplastics have been used, but these
have poor mechanical properties and fire performance, and are
therefore unsuitable for rolling stock applications. New,
high-performance materials, including Stratasys Antero 800 NA, a
PEKK-based thermoplastic, have now been tested to demonstrate they
are capable of achieving compliance to the Rail Standard
EN45545-2.
Commenting on this announcement, Mark Hicks, Angel Trains’
Technical Director said: “This exciting industry-first
collaboration has the potential to transform manufacturing within
the rail industry. We are proud to be driving this innovation with
ESG Rail and Stratasys and hope that this solution will help to
free the industry from technological constraints, and allow our
trains to continue to meet passengers’ needs now and in the
future.”
Martin Stevens, Head of Mechanical Engineering, ESG Rail,
commented: “We have learned so much during this project and have
addressed many engineering challenges. We believe that this
emerging method of manufacturing will reduce costs, production
times and issues faced by component obsolescence.”
Yann Rageul, Manager, Strategic Account Team EMEA, Stratasys
added: “With the highest level of repeatability in the industry and
advanced, rail-certified, materials, we believe our FDM additive
manufacturing solutions offer huge potential to replace traditional
manufacturing for a diverse range of applications within the rail
industry. This collaboration will help us to explore how we can
support rail companies, such as Angel Trains, to produce parts
on-demand – both cost-effectively and efficiently – eradicating the
need for obsolete inventory and improving their ability to service
customers.”
Kevin Dilks, Business Development Manager, ESG Rail, said: “We
are absolutely delighted to be working alongside Angel Trains and
Stratasys in the development of additive manufacturing components
for the rail industry. We are proud to be at the forefront of this
emerging technology and we look forward to a long and fruitful
collaboration.”
For media enquiries contact Heidi Lee, Communications Manager,
ESG Rail – 01332 483 849 (mobile - 07870 958043) or email:
heidi.lee@deutschebahn.com
About ESG Rail - ESG Rail is the route to market for DB’s
technology expertise. As part of the DB Group, ESG provides
innovative, value-led strategic advice, technical consultancy and
technology integration. Based in Derby, home to the largest cluster
of railway companies in the world, ESG is a leading rolling stock
consultancy and provides services to many of the UK’s train
operators, manufacturers, owners and maintainers.
For further information visit: www.db-esgrail.com
About Angel Trains
Angel Trains is one of Britain’s leading train leasing companies
and has been an owner and lessor of rolling stock since 1994. The
company leases to 18 franchised operators and two open access
operators in the UK. Angel Trains is passionate about financing and
delivering high quality, modern assets to its customers and is
committed to working with the Government, the Rail Delivery Group
("RDG") and other stakeholders to provide innovative funding
solutions to modernise and improve the UK's train fleet. Angel
Trains has invested £5.0 billion in new rolling stock and
refurbishment programmes since 1994 and is one of the largest
private investors in the industry.
For futher information visit: angeltrains.co.uk
For media enquiries please contact
angel.trains@grayling.com
About Stratasys
Stratasys is a global leader in additive manufacturing or
3D printing technology and is the manufacturer of FDM® and PolyJet™
3D Printers. The company’s technologies are used to create
prototypes, manufacturing tools, and production parts for
industries, including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, consumer
products and education. For 30 years, Stratasys products have
helped manufacturers reduce product-development time, cost, and
time-to-market, as well as reduce or eliminate tooling costs and
improve product quality. The Stratasys 3D printing ecosystem of
solutions and expertise includes: 3D printers, materials, software,
expert services, and on-demand parts production. Corporate
Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel. Online
at: http://www.stratasys.com/, http://blog.stratasys.com/ and
LinkedIn.
Stratasys is a registered trademark and Fortus, ULTEM, and
Stratasys signet are trademarks of Stratasys Ltd. and/or its
subsidiaries or affiliates. All other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.
Attention Editors, if you publish reader-contact information,
please use:
- USA +800-801-6491
- Europe/Middle East/Africa
+49-7229-7772-0
- Asia Pacific +852 3944-8888
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181210005455/en/
Stratasys Media ContactsStratasys Corporate
&North AmericaCraig.Librett@stratasys.com+1 612-364-3208
Europe, Middle East, andAfricaJonathan Wake /
Miguel Afonso, Incus Mediastratasys@incus-media.com+44 1737 215200
Greater China, Southeast Asia, ANZ, and IndiaAlice
Chiumedia.ap@stratasys.com+86-21-33196051
Japan and KoreaAya.Yoshizawa@stratasys.com+81
3 5542 0042
Mexico, Central America, Caribe and South
AmericaErica.massini@stratasys.com+55 11 2626-9229
BrazilCaio.Ramos@GPcom.com.brNando@GPcom.com.brGP
Communications+55 (11) 3129 5158
Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024