Andretti Autosport, an Indiana-based international auto racing team, will collaborate with Stratasys to create 3D printed parts for its racing cars. The Andretti Autosport team is owned and led by the former 1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series champion Michael Andretti.
Rob Edwards, COO of Andretti Autosport said, “We have been looking for the right partner to add 3D capability to our design and development activities for a while now […] We couldn’t be more thrilled to establish a relationship with the industry leader, Stratasys.”
In race with Stratasys Fortus
The Andretti Autosport team takes part in three formula (open wheel or single-seater) car races, IndyCar Series and Indy Lights, and FIA Formula E Championship, a race of electric-powered formula cars. Since 2004, the team has won IndyCar Series four times and Indy Lights three times.
This year Andretti’s racing team will take advantage of two Stratasys’ FDM/FFF 3D printers, the Fortus F370 and 450mc. The Fortus printers are among the Stratasys’ most widely used FDM/FFF printers. It is important to note here that both machines are compatible with GrabCAD Print Advance FDM. This feature generates machine toolpath directly from a CAD file, thus streamlining the AM workflow.
Edwards commented, “Since the machines were commissioned, they have been operating at capacity and we look forward to seeing the benefits of our expanded capability on the race-track in 2019.”
The Andretti Autosport team will be racing at the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series on March 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Gaining an edge with 3D printing
Creative uses of 3D printing in the automotive industry are reported quite often. With generative design, the advantages of 3D printing in auto racing have also become apparent. For example, Carbon Performance leverages generative design to 3D print bespoke parts for auto racers that could give them an edge over their competitors.
Stratasys as well, in recent years, has worked with auto racing teams such as the McLaren F1 and Team Penske, one of the biggest professional motorsports organization. Now, a similar long term partnership with Andretti Autosport will oversee the auto racing teams progression with 3D printing.
Pat Carey, Senior Vice President at Stratasys, said, “We are excited to join the Andretti Autosport family and look forward to working together in the coming years […] We see that Stratasys High Performance FDM solutions are being increasingly adopted by the world’s top motorsports teams and manufacturers.”
“We believe that our highly reliable engineering grade printers and wide choice of high-performance materials are the perfect fit for the extreme challenges our motorsport customers face.”
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Featured image shows the ARX-01a of Andretti Green Racing at Road America. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
