Product category:
Motor sports manufacturing: fabrication and assembly
News Release from: EOS Electro Optical Systems | Subject: EOSINT P 385 laser sintering systems
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 13 February 2006
Laser sintering is faster than monobloc
machining
A hydraulic hose clamp in Formula One car cockpit is laser-sintered as the process is faster and more cost effective than the previous method of machining the part from aluminium.
WilliamsF1 has ordered two EOSINT P 385 systems from the German manufacturer, EOS, for laser-sintering components from plastic powder The order was placed following a thorough technical assessment of the technology over a six-month period
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 12 Oct 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Two laser sintering systems - including a double-laser one - manufacture hour by hour racing car components directly from thermoplastic powders on the basis of three-dimensional CAD data.
Williams, located at Grove, near Wantage, decided to keep the evaluation machine and has since ordered another EOSINT P 385 system.
It has also expressed interest in buying further machines over the next three years.
Williams will mainly use the EOS laser-sintering technology for building prototypes for wind tunnel testing and mock-ups, as well as for making components used in the FW 28 racecar.
Further reading
Laser sintering expertise brought to the UK
German rapid prototyping systems maker is bringing a wealth of rapid manufacturing technology and experience based on laser-sintering machines and metals, plastics and sands powders.
Laser very fine grain metal powders to make moulds
TransCAT took only 16h using very fine-grained metal powders in a laser-sintering system to build the core and cavity of a plastics injection mould for producing thin-walled fan wheels.
Local assistance for applications engineering and service will be provided by the UK subsidiary of EOS in Warwick.
Said Alex Burns, chief operating officer of WilliamsF1, "This investment gives us a significant increase in our ability to produce parts in very short timescales.
We selected the P 385 because it gives us the best combination of build speed, component quality and size; and we intend to make full use of the expanding range of materials that can be sintered on these machines." Commented Johann Oberhofer, chief operating officer of EOS, "Formula 1 is a very interesting market for our e-Manufacturing solutions, which enable fast, flexible and cost-effective production directly from electronic data.
In no other sector has the need to speed development and manufacture become as pressing as in the racing industry." EOS and Williams have also entered into a sponsorship agreement, under which EOS has been designated 'Promotional Partner of the WilliamsF1 Team'.
The collaboration will allow EOS to strengthen its position in the motor sport industry.
* About EOS - EOS was founded in 1989 and is today the world-leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems.
Laser-sintering is the key technology for e-Manufacturing, which is used for the manufacture of products, patterns or tools at every phase of a product's life cycle.
EOS completed its last business year on September 30th, 2005 with revenues of EUR 49 million.
The technology leader recently received a TOP 100 award for being one of the 100 most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany.
* About WilliamsF1 - WilliamsF1 is one of the world's leading Formula One teams, with 16 FIA Formula One World Championship titles and 113 Grand Prix victories to its credit.
Today, WilliamsF1 employs around 500 personnel at a 40ha technology campus based in the heart of the UK's Motorsport Valley in rural Oxfordshire.
The company's core competencies are the design and manufacture of Formula One race cars, and the deployment of this expertise in running the team's entries into the Grands Prix each season.
The company was formed in 1978 and is privately owned by Sir Frank Williams and his long-term business partner, Patrick Head.
(www.williamsf1.com).
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