HOW 3D PRINTING MAKES MCLAREN GO FASTER - AND HOW THESE LESSONS CAN APPLY TO YOUR INDUSTRY - STRATASYS ...
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“McLaren has been a leader in innovation in the F1 world for the last 50 years. Leading the innovation of several technologies
used in F1 today such as the Electronic Control Units and telemetry software. Keeping abreast of the latest technologies is
fundamental to our success and sustained performance. 3D printing is no different and partnering with Stratasys keeps us at
the forefront of FDM and PolyJet manufacturing.”
Pier Thynne
Production Director McLaren
How 3D Printing
Makes McLaren Go Faster
And How These Lessons Can Apply to Your Industry
Since its founding by Bruce McLaren in 1963, McLaren Racing has consistently been at the forefront of
manufacturing technology to solve unique challenges that hone its competitive edge. McLaren Racing’s
success relies on state-of-the-art technology, so it was no surprise when McLaren teamed up with Stratasys
to push its use of additive manufacturing (AM) to the next level.
The competitive nature of Formula 1 (F1) racing pushes teams to develop the best solutions possible in
their quest to reach the winner’s circle. Using tools like AM, F1 racing has become an inspiration to other
enterprises on how to maintain the lead in their own industry.
The following pages highlight McLaren’s application of AM to accelerate timelines and reduce cost. But
while these stories focus on F1 racing examples, the principles apply across multiple industries. Virtually
any business that is ready to fuel growth can benefit from additive manufacturing. In doing so, you can join
McLaren in creating the future of manufacturing.
Solution Brief
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Figure 1 - Application of the adhesive to the 3D printed suspension model.
Prototyping and R&D
Ingenious Weight Savings Without
Compromising Safety
In F1 racing, every gram of weight is critical. But
simply cutting weight is not the only thing the
McLaren team has to watch out for. The safety of
the driver is of utmost importance as well. For this
reason, it’s crucial for engineers to make sure they
are meticulous in their approach for how load-bearing
features of the car’s suspension are bonded together.
Too much adhesive and the car will be slower, giving
the other teams a chance to pull ahead. Too little
adhesive is not an option either.
In a clever example of using clear 3D printing material,
McLaren 3D printed clear surrogate suspension parts
to practice the bonding process, shown in Figures
1 through 4. The clear material lets technicians see
how the adhesive spreads when parts are pressed
together and provides visibility to the integrity of the
bond joint, something that’s not possible with opaque
materials. With this insight, McLaren technicians
Solution Brief
can refine the technique with the right amount of
adhesive, safeguarding against an insufficient amount
Figure 2 - Assembling the parts together.
but also avoiding the addition of excess weight.
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Figure 3 - The clear parts show the results – poor adhesive Figure 4 - Another test showing the optimized adhesive pattern with
distribution in some areas and too much adhesive in others. excellent coverage and no waste.
By taking advantage of the VeroUltraClear™ material
on the Stratasys J850™ PolyJet™ printer, McLaren
successfully used transparent 3D printed test parts
to ensure their bonding processes are accurate
before the final components enter production.
Using AM for innovative solutions like this helps
McLaren fine tune the manufacturing process,
driving out bottom-line costs and solving the
difficulty of inspecting unseen adhesive joints.
These lessons also translate to the broader
manufacturing world. Anytime raw materials are
wasted in production, the company incurs increased
Figure 5 – Wishbone suspension test models printed in VeroUltraClear
costs and an enlarged environmental footprint. While on the J850.
a few grams per part on several race cars might not
be as critical, in a traditional manufacturing scenario
this volume quickly adds up.
“This tool allows us to quickly verify the bonding process integrity
between a composite suspension wishbone and its mating metal
end fitting. Using additive manufacturing, rather than machining
metal or polymer allows us to achieve a component quickly with
less personnel involved. Less time, fewer people, less material,
less wastage.”
Solution Brief
Neil Oatley
Design & Development Director McLaren
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Figure 6 - One of McLaren’s F1 car designs under test in the wind tunnel.
Prototyping and R&D
Additive Manufacturing in the Wind Tunnel
The J850 printer gives McLaren a way to create high resolution wind tunnel models for aerodynamic
research. The technical team uses them to make small mechanical adjustments to prototyped parts. This
results in a race-ready car faster than testing iterations on full production vehicle components. Using PolyJet
technology this way gives McLaren the ability to not only reduce time from initial design to physical part, it
offers something other technologies cannot – flexible and durable parts.
The flexibility of certain PolyJet materials allows the team to make small mechanical adjustments in the wind
tunnel to find ideal solutions without having to rebuild the parts. Using GrabCAD Print™ software, engineers
can vary the stiffness of different regions of the model. This adjustability reduces time spent producing and
Solution Brief
finishing parts for the wind tunnel and allows more time for designing and testing.
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Figure 7 - This GrabCAD Print screenshot illustrates how McLaren uses variable durometer parts for their aerodynamic analysis. Sections with
different Shore values (hardness) are shown in separate colors.
Figure 7 shows how a multi-body CAD file
or assembly of STLs can be loaded into “Speed is as crucial off the track
Stratasys’ GrabCAD Print build preparation as it is on the track. An F1 car
software. The straightforward interface lets the
user assign custom material properties such
is made up of around 16,000
as color or mechanical behavior to individual parts and on average, one part
portions of the model.
is upgraded every 15 minutes,
Prototyping and testing new components
using traditional manufacturing methods
so speed of production is really
have a significant impact on tight production key. From the traditional first
deadlines, regardless of industry. Whether
race of the season in Australia
getting ready for the next race or next week’s
product presentation, accelerating the design to the final race in Abu Dhabi,
and evaluation process with AM saves we expect 85% of the designed
valuable time.
parts of the car to change. It
is a constant race against time
not only on the track but in the
factory too.”
Piers Thynne
Executive Director, Operations, McLaren Racing
Solution Brief
6
3D Printed
Production
Parts
Faster Time From the Printer to the Car
Like other race teams, McLaren uses composites
for aerodynamic parts of their race cars because
they’re lightweight but strong. In some cases,
however, there’s simply not enough time to
fabricate these parts due to the hours required to
make new lay-up tools and cure the composite
material. The need for alternative parts that are
light but incredibly strong and stiff led McLaren
to employ 3D printing instead, using FDM® Nylon
12CF (carbon fiber) material. This composite
thermoplastic contains chopped carbon fiber,
resulting in parts with exceptional strength and
rigidity. Although traditional composites may result
in a lighter part in some cases, the time savings Figure 8 – Aerodynamic parts 3D printed in FDM Nylon 12CF material.
afforded by 3D printing makes the extra weight
worth it.
In this particular example shown in Figures 8
and 9, McLaren was able to go from CAD model
to physical part in just five days. This phase
previously took 29 days to complete. Instead
of racing with inadequate parts on their car for
numerous races, engineers were able to have
optimized, 3D printed parts on their vehicle
for the next week’s race. 3D printing saved
approximately 25% in cost compared to their
traditional counterparts. Through an improved
workflow, McLaren is able to replace critical
components in time for the next race, increasing
overall performance and reducing expenses.
Figure 9 – Another view of the 3D printed part (scoop and vanes) mated
Solution Brief
up to a carbon fiber lay-up assembly.
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3D Printed
Production Parts
Additively produced composite parts must
go through McLaren’s rigorous quality tests
just like their traditional counterparts. Figure 10
shows a partially completed composite brake wing
3D printed with FDM technology ready to go to the
shaker table to look for defects. The value of 3D printing
and GrabCAD Print software is the ability to adjust print
settings as needed to optimize the part, and makes it
extremely easy to assign different toolpaths to individual
portions of the CAD model for parts like this. Figure 11
shows the infill settings being adjusted in the software.
GrabCAD Print works with all common CAD formats and
allows users to leave manufacturing notes on the part to
help with communication between engineers and machine
operators.
Whether it’s Sunday race day or some other time
limit, most businesses have deadlines and demanding
requirements that need to be met. Using FDM Nylon 12CF
as a strong but lightweight alternative to other fabrication Figure 10 – A 3D printed brake wing ready to undergo quality testing.
methods, manufacturers can follow McLaren’s example
and push products to market faster, with better
performance and lower cost.
Solution Brief
Figure 11 – A screenshot of the Advanced FDM features in GrabCAD Print software to
assign custom infill settings to specific areas of a part to optimize its build.
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Figure 12 – The aerodynamic features on the front of the McLaren Formula 1 car.
3D Printed
Production Parts
The Bottom Line: Cost
For many manufacturing businesses, time is important but ultimately cost is king and there are diminishing
returns to being early on a project if you can’t meet your client’s budget. McLaren F1 has found that 3D
printing production parts turns the economics completely on its head. It’s not only faster to print, but in
some circumstances, it’s also cheaper. The reason lies in the fact that by eliminating the tooling from the
manufacturing process, a major source of cost has also been removed.
That was the case in the development of the front brake ducts shown in Figure 12. These aerodynamic
features help channel air into the braking system and manage the flow entering the front of the car. These
parts not only resulted in a 60% faster lead time but were also 86% cheaper.
Solution Brief
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Custom Engine Bay Cooling Duct
F1 cars are noted for their aerodynamic features.
They enhance performance by providing additional
downforce to keep the car stable, create dirty air
to disturb competitors’ cars, and cool heat-critical
components.
But when the car isn’t moving, certain components
still need airflow. Since the vehicles do not have
large radiator fans like those found in production
automobiles, they need forced supplemental airflow
when the car is parked. Figure 13 shows how
McLaren cools the rear of the engine bay using
3D printed parts. They’re used when the car is
stationary during various intervals such as in the
garage, between practice runs, qualifying laps, or
prior to the start of the race. To neatly interface with
an electric fan inlet, McLaren prints parts that mate
appropriately into the original design of the car.
This keeps the engine and its airflow-dependent Figure 13 - Cooling the rear part of the engine bay with a 3D printed duct.
components from overheating and damage.
McLaren produces only two or three sections of
their duct design per year. Instead of resorting
to traditional manufacturing processes such as
composite assembly or metal fabrication, they save
time and expense by 3D printing them.
Applications in the automotive industry that could
be modelled after McLaren’s printed duct include
cooling mechanical components exposed to
the outside environment by means of additively
manufactured parts.
Another example involves keeping the passenger
compartment at the ideal temperature via a
printed assembly. When routing necessary airflow
through a tight or complex area, designing for
AM and creating parts difficult to make otherwise
could be the best viable option. For low-volume,
intricate parts, AM enables quick turnaround times
- sometimes within the same day - with no tooling
required. This is a great solution for innovative
automotive companies, manufacturing equipment
producers, the aerospace industry, and anywhere
custom solutions are required.
Solution Brief
Figure 14 - The cooling duct on McLaren’s F1 race car in the pit row.
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“Essentially this allows us to build a very complex part quickly and without tooling. Meaning we can iterate design details to
hone in on the best performing ergonomic solution very quickly without investing in multiple tooling options to arrive at a final
design, before we commit to long term production composite components.”
Neil Oatley
Design & Development Director McLaren
Tooling
Custom Tools – Additive is a Great Team Player
Every profession has its specialized tools that have equally specialized price tags. F1 racing is no different.
One such tool is the wheel gun, which removes and installs the car’s tires during a pit stop faster than
you can blink. This tool needs to function efficiently and repeatedly since the average pit stop is about 2.5
seconds. In F1 racing, a few extra milliseconds during a pit stop can mean dropping position or losing the
race entirely. It’s a critical piece of pit hardware and needs to be protected. But it also has to be ergonomic
to allow the tire changers to do their job smoothly and without strain.
Solution Brief11
To achieve both goals, McLaren 3D printed a
custom wheel gun shell, shown in Figures 15
and 16. The rugged FDM thermoplastic material
prevents the expensive electro-pneumatic gun
from being damaged as it’s moved around the
pit area. Along with that, 3D printing’s design
freedom lets McLaren configure the shell for
maximum comfort and usability.
It’s a perfect example of how FDM technology
is a good fit for tooling, satisfying multiple
objectives: protection for equipment, light- Figure 15 – A pit crew member using the wheel gun with its 3D
printed protective cover.
weighting for easier usability and easy
customization for ergonomic comfort and safety.
As McLaren and countless other manufacturers
around the world already know, this type of
application is not limited to tool covers, but also
fixtures such as conformal soft jaws and testing
equipment. McLaren has learned the only thing
that limits the application is the imagination.
Figure 16 – The 3D printed
wheel gun shroud shown
separately.
Complex Tooling Made Simple With Soluble Cores
Some of the more difficult parts to make on F1 cars
are composite tubes and ducts. Fabricating these parts
usually requires complex tools or clamshell molds. But
both methods have drawbacks and in some cases,
the parts can’t even be made with traditional tooling.
In this situation, McLaren uses sacrificial cores to
make the parts. The soluble core forms a
mold of the duct’s internal shape, shown
in Figure 17, and is 3D printed using
ST-130 sacrificial tooling material. The
mold is then wrapped in carbon fiber.
Once the composite material is cured it’s
immersed in a dissolution tank where the
Solution Brief
sacrificial mold dissolves, leaving behind
the desired composite duct. Figure 17 – A sacrificial tool (soluble core)
used as a pattern to form the composite
duct shown in Figure 18.12
Tooling
The resulting part is pictured in Figure 18 after the soluble core has been dissolved away. This application is
a fast and simple way to make small batches of custom, high-performance parts and is a great alternative
to the time and cost of making traditional tooling.
This process is also used in many other industries, including factory automation, bicycle production,
aerospace manufacturing, automotive, custom sporting goods and medical device research. Like McLaren
Racing, when there’s a need to make hollow, complex composite parts in a timely and cost-effective
manner, 3D printed soluble cores are among the most efficient solutions.
Figure 18 – The final composite duct with the soluble ST-130 material dissolved away.
Solution Brief13
Beyond the Race Track
Simply put, McLaren maximizes 3D printing’s capabilities to get better results and go faster. But it’s not
some specialized technology limited to only Formula One racing teams. Rather, it’s a tool that virtually any
business in any industry can leverage to improve processes and ultimately, the bottom line.
If you’re in the business of bringing new products to market, would the ability to prototype faster and
achieve better designs get you to market more quickly?
If you’re a manufacturer, how would the capability to make new or replacement jigs and fixtures faster and
for less cost than conventional tools impact your production schedule? Would lighter, more ergonomic tools
improve worker safety and comfort?
McLaren exemplifies how 3D printing benefits one company. But your business could just as easily reap the
same advantages.
To join the ranks of McLaren and countless other companies that benefit from 3D printing technology,
contact a Stratasys representative today.
Stratasys Headquarters
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Solution Brief
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