The Sauber F1 Team recently took delivery of its first MetalFAB1 system from Additive Industries. The F1 team will use this system to print parts in metal. What exactly is the MetalFAB1 system and what makes it special?
3D printing is not new to the Sauber F1 Team. The team now has 10 years of experience printing parts in plastic. With the MetalFAB1, the team is now making the switch to printing parts in metal. This will allow the company to produce parts faster for its Formula 1 race cars, wind tunnel models and third-party orders, among others. Additive Industries will supply a total of two MetalFAB1 systems to the team, the first of which has therefore now been delivered.
Integrated additive manufacturing system
The MetalFAB1 system was developed by Dutch company Additive Industries, headquartered in Eindhoven. The system uses a powder bed fusion technique, where metal powder is cured using lasers to create metal products layer by layer. Additive Industries claims to have launched the first integrated additive manufacturing system for metal on the market with the MetalFAB1. Integrated in this case means that both the 3D printing process, heat treatment of the material, automated removal of products from the printer and storage of printed products are integrated into one system. With the MetalFAB1, objects measuring up to 400 by 420 by 400 milimetres can be printed.
The various steps in the production process are automated by the system, which includes a robot. This robot links the different process steps together. Among other things, the robot ensures that printed products are automatically removed from the printer and the printer's print bed is replaced to prepare the printer for the next print. This automation not only reduces the number of manual operations required to produce a product, but also ensures higher consistency and quality of the parts produced.
Modular system
The system is modular, which in practice means that customers can decide how comprehensive the system they purchase is. For example, Additive Industries supplies an entry-level model of the 3D printing system: MetalFAB1 Basic. This features one Additive Manufacturing Core, the module in which metal objects can be printed. It is possible to add a second Additive Manufacturing Core to increase system productivity. It is also possible to increase the number of lasers in the system to increase production speed.
The most comprehensive variant of the MetalFAB1 is the MetalFAB1 Productivity. This system can be equipped with up to four lasers and two to four Additive Manufacturing Cores. These additional print modules can be used to run multiple processes simultaneously and increase the system's productivity. For example, an object can be printed in one Additive Manufacturing Core while (preventive) maintenance is performed on another print module, the print bed in a module is changed or powder is removed from a print module. Also, the presence of multiple Additive Manufacturing Cores makes it possible to print multiple types of material in a single machine, without having to clean the powder system in between or risking unintended mixing of different types of powder. Up to eight empty print beds and - depending on the height of a print - two to eight rounded prints can be stored in the MetalFAB1 Productivity.
Upgrading to MetalFAB1 Productivity
In addition, unlike the MetalFAB1 Basic, the MetalFAB1 Productivity features modules for heat treatment and automated object removal from the printer. Due to the modular nature of the MetalFAB1, customers can choose to purchase a MetalFAB1 Basic initially and upgrade this solution to a MetalFAB1 Productivity as their additive manufacturing needs increase.
The delivery of the MetalFAB 1 systems to the Sauber F1 Team is part of Additive Industries' three-year technology partnership with the team. Under this, Additive Industries will supply the MetalFAB1 systems to the Sauber F1 Team and in return may use a Sauber production facility in Hinwil, Switzerland, as a training facility for European customers. "In this partnership, we enable Sauber F1 Team professionals to accelerate in the field of additive manufacturing in metal. We are grateful to be able to use Sauber's brand-new and state-of-the-art production facility in Hinwil as a training facility for our European customer base in return," explained Daan A.J. Kersten, CEO of Additive Industries. Pascal Picci, chairman of the board of Sauber Holding, added: "This investment marks the transition of the Sauber F1 Team into a broader technology company and is an important part of our long-term vision."
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Additive Industries
Source photo: Additive Industries
