3D printing in racing with SSAB AM

When it comes to racing of all kinds, the volume is rarely high enough for a production line and you need to find high-tech solutions for your components, to make them lighter and stronger within the set budget. This is precisely what the students at Chalmers Formula Student have realized and they are building more and more details for their racing car with AM. 

Shock absorber bracket 3D printed from SSAB AM TS2

All 3D printed components with SSAB AM TS2

SSAB has for a long-time supported Chalmers Formula Student with materials to manufacture their car with high-strength components. It has then been material for a tube frame behind the driver which, in the event of a rollover of the car, would protect the driver from being pinched under the car and break discs manufactured in SSAB Hardox. When the students within the team learned that SSAB had also started producing steel powder for 3D-printing high-strength components, SSAB's powder technology group received a request if we could help the students with manufacturing structural parts for the car. The answer was of course, yes!

Topology optimized shock absorber mount with SSAB AM TS2

The result from the printed components was very impressive. The students reported that even though the shock mounts had a 2.5x safety margin, they were able to reduce the weight from the previous aluminum milled part by 32% per part. Having this said, with the right material and with this manufacturing method, you can compete with aluminum in both strength and weight. The anti-roll bar, as we mentioned earlier, could not be topology optimized due to physical limitations. However, due to the detail being so difficult to manufacture, we were able to unlock several days of difficult machining for the budding engineers. And with SSAB AM TS2's mechanical properties, the students were able to increase the stiffness of the wheel suspension.