Polish racing team uses NijaFlex material to 3D printing racing vent washers

With 3D printing technology entering the manufacturing industry, few factories have used this technology as well in the automotive industry. In fact, when it comes to the application of additive manufacturing technology, it is probably in addition to the medical and aerospace industries, the automotive industry. Some big companies like Ford and Rolls Royce, as well as professional racing teams and some start-up companies, regard 3D printing technology as a tool for designing complex components. For example, open source car companies have performance in their entire locomotive. Far better than the products of mass producers.

Recently, it seems that every week, new revolutionary applications in the 3D printing industry have appeared in the automotive field, and this week is no exception.

We all know that 3D printing has achieved remarkable results in the rapid design of new products and new parts. No one knows this better than the Polish PR team. From July 9th to 12th, they will compete in the Formula One competition at the Silverstone Circuit in the UK, and in September they will have to move to Italy.

Weight and customization are two very important aspects of making such a locomotive. Both the technical team and the PRZ racing team are very aware of how important 3D printing is for locomotive design. In fact, before planning all the work, they have already determined that the 3D printing parts will be used in the design of the locomotive, and for the locomotive, it is an important module, called the ventilation system.

If you have research on a car, you should know how important an efficient ventilation system is. If you have an excellent ventilation system, the locomotive's fuel power, horsepower and torque will be significantly improved, which is why the PRz team will consider 3D printing as a design and manufacturing method.

Because they must follow the strict rules of car design and manufacturing, they need to come up with an optimized solution for 3D printing. According to Centrumdruku3d, they first used ABS thermoplastics to print various venting parts on the FFF Jelwek 3D printer. As you know, using hot materials does not always print the ideal product, like this ventilation system, you must have a good vacuum seal.

But they did not give up, they began to re-examine the program, and finally turned the material application to the hot elastomeric material NinjaFlex, which is a rubber-printable material that we have reported many times before. Using NinjaFlex supplies and the Prusa Jelwek i3FFF 3D printer, the team printed a number of elastomeric washers, but these washers must be placed in different positions before they are screwed together to prevent bonding due to incomplete cooling. These flexible NinjaFlex gaskets provide excellent air tightness between each component, creating a near-perfect vacuum seal for the entire ventilation system.

As you can see in these pictures, the connections between these washers are very good, and the PRz team hopes to win the six-week championship on the Silverstone track.