... discovering what the members of the community are doing and their outcomes...
The Challenge
MTC engineers and Oxford Brookes had to design, manufacture titanium complex uprights within four weeks for the motorsport race car. Key challenges for this project included:
Producing fully functioning parts by AM that could be validated for racing. This included design, manufacture, inspection and machining.
Achieving the optimum weight savings whilst maintaining safety margins for extreme loads experienced on track.
The Solution
In partnership with Oxford Brookes students, the MTC supported and reviewed the complex design for AM manufacture of the upright brackets.
All components were manufactured in titanium using the Electron Beam Melting (EBM) process at MTC, home to the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM).
Non Destructive Testing (NDT) and metrology techniques were utilised to ensure that all parts achieved the required quality standard for use on the car.
The Outcome
Demonstration of AM for use in a safety critical motorsport application.
Component weight saving of 50% using AM compared to conventional machining
The Oxford Brookes Racing (OBR) car fitted with the AM uprights achieved the following awards:
2nd Overall Team
2nd Engineering design
Top UK car
2nd Skid pad
3rd Endurance
4th Cost and Manufacturing
5th Efficiency
The Benefits
Assessed the maturity of AM for use in future motorsport applications.
Demonstration of full method of manufacturing, including validation.
Functional, dynamic test feedback from AM components.
Development of best practise in datuming features for post-build machining operations.
Success Story related to Prototyping in the context of Automotive
