How 3D-Printed Parts Changed the NASCAR Cup Series (popsci.com) 17
Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Popular Science: In 2021, NASCAR unveiled its Next Gen platform that included a number of rule changes from the previous iteration. Now fully symmetrical and using composite body panels instead of metal, the latest NASCAR vehicles are more like the street versions of the Chevrolet Camaro, the Ford Mustang, and the Toyota TRD Camry. Race car driving isn't an inexpensive sport, and one of the goals for the Next Gen platform was to reduce operating costs and create parity across the board. Technique Chassis, the sole chassis manufacturer for the NASCAR Cup Series, builds a modular offering in three parts. As a result, everyone is starting with the same platform, and finding a competitive advantage is in the tiniest details. One smart way to differentiate from the competition is 3D-printed parts. But this isn't your hobbyist level 3D printing.
Minnesota-based Stratasys specializes in "additive manufacturing," the process of creating an object by building it one layer at a time. Stratasys Senior Global Director of Automotive & Mobility Fadi Abro explains that this term is synonymous with 3D printing. However, the industry often reserves that description for hobby-level projects on smaller, non-industrial printers, while additive manufacturing represents robust industrial solutions. Additive manufacturing is the exact inverse of subtractive manufacturing, which requires cutting away at a solid chunk of material to achieve a final product. In art terms, additive manufacturing would be like sculpting with modeling clay while subtractive is akin to carving a shape from a block of marble. As it relates to NASCAR, Stratasys provides parts like ducts, covers, brackets, and tubing. Together with the racing organization, Stratasys reviews the current driver needs and makes recommendations for other parts and modifications. [...]
The kind of printers Stratasys builds aren't the type you buy at your local electronics store, either. Each industrial-grade 3D printer costs anywhere from $20,000 to $600,000. Using this kind of equipment isn't without precedent, and builds at SEMA's annual extravaganza feature 3D parts we wouldn't have dreamed of a few years ago. [...] In the past few months, Stratasys has been on a roll, signing an extension to its 20-year partnership with the Joe Gibbs Racing team and earning the title of "Official 3D Printing Partner of NASCAR." Competition for this market continues to heat up, however, as there are startups and legacy companies pushing hard. Around the world, 3D printing companies abound. Stratasys has one major factor on its side: 35 years of experience. What's new is that today's printing is more accurate, it's faster, the materials are more robust, Abro says. "I think what's changed drastically over the past five to seven years has been all about material development," Abro explains. "We're seeing materials that are just incredible, whether it's how resistant to heat they are or how strong they are compared to how much they weigh."
"It's better, faster, cheaper. It's faster to print something than to mill it, and then it's certainly cheaper in a multitude of different ways. Number one, there's not as much skill required for 3D printing as there is in CNC machining; you need a more traditional manufacturing method."
Minnesota-based Stratasys specializes in "additive manufacturing," the process of creating an object by building it one layer at a time. Stratasys Senior Global Director of Automotive & Mobility Fadi Abro explains that this term is synonymous with 3D printing. However, the industry often reserves that description for hobby-level projects on smaller, non-industrial printers, while additive manufacturing represents robust industrial solutions. Additive manufacturing is the exact inverse of subtractive manufacturing, which requires cutting away at a solid chunk of material to achieve a final product. In art terms, additive manufacturing would be like sculpting with modeling clay while subtractive is akin to carving a shape from a block of marble. As it relates to NASCAR, Stratasys provides parts like ducts, covers, brackets, and tubing. Together with the racing organization, Stratasys reviews the current driver needs and makes recommendations for other parts and modifications. [...]
The kind of printers Stratasys builds aren't the type you buy at your local electronics store, either. Each industrial-grade 3D printer costs anywhere from $20,000 to $600,000. Using this kind of equipment isn't without precedent, and builds at SEMA's annual extravaganza feature 3D parts we wouldn't have dreamed of a few years ago. [...] In the past few months, Stratasys has been on a roll, signing an extension to its 20-year partnership with the Joe Gibbs Racing team and earning the title of "Official 3D Printing Partner of NASCAR." Competition for this market continues to heat up, however, as there are startups and legacy companies pushing hard. Around the world, 3D printing companies abound. Stratasys has one major factor on its side: 35 years of experience. What's new is that today's printing is more accurate, it's faster, the materials are more robust, Abro says. "I think what's changed drastically over the past five to seven years has been all about material development," Abro explains. "We're seeing materials that are just incredible, whether it's how resistant to heat they are or how strong they are compared to how much they weigh."
"It's better, faster, cheaper. It's faster to print something than to mill it, and then it's certainly cheaper in a multitude of different ways. Number one, there's not as much skill required for 3D printing as there is in CNC machining; you need a more traditional manufacturing method."
If you are not first (Score:3)
Say what? (Score:1)
Clearly someone didn't do their editor work because racing is hugely expensive. Thus, the reason for this article.
Re: (Score:3)
That is a double negative. Isn't = is not, inexpensive = not expensive. Is not not expensive = is expensive.
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I imagine OP was saying that the phrase 'isn't inexpensive' has the connotation that it is minorly expensive, whereas NASCAR racing is a multi-million dollar sport.
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Re: Say what? (Score:4, Insightful)
Clearly someone didn't have their coffee yet.
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Race car driving isn't an inexpensive sport,
Clearly someone didn't do their editor work because racing is hugely expensive. Thus, the reason for this article.
I imagine NASCAR, compared to say F1 is going to be on the cheap end of the scale. I mean an F1 car has to take right hand turns.
A quick google (so yeah, completely scientific) suggests a Nascar car is about US$500,000 to produce. Red Bull's 2024 F1 car was US$15 Million each with teams in 2024 limited to a maximum budget of US$135 million for materials.
I get that NASCAR is a modified production car whilst F1 is bespoke... but a 2024 WRC (rally) car cost a cool Million Euros (so just over a million US
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Hopscotch is an inexpensive sport
Racing million dollar cars isn't an inexpensive sport
See the difference?
Re: Say What (Score:3)
Wow is there a coffee shortage this morning? Seriously guys??
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Reading headlines isn't a dumb person's sport.
Overselling. (Score:1)
As always, 'it depends.' I think the biggest false claims here are the time and skill aspect. It doesn't take more skill to CNC a part than it does to 3d print one, its just a different skillset. Even if you don't know G-code inside and out, modern CAD/CAM software will do it all for you as long as you set up the parameters correctly. Same deal with 3d printing. If you can model it and know your software, you can make it.
As for time, there's almost nothing you'd make on a CNC mill that would be faster
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I think the skillset for CNC is more expensive than that for a 3D Printer.
Source: https://cncmachinist.net/salary/ [cncmachinist.net]
CNC machines cost anywhere from $200,000 and up, although many are over $500,000. 6-axis machines and larger industrial machining centers can be $250,000 to $500,000, as well.
Source: https://info.lagunatools.com/how-much-is-a-cnc-machine-buying-guide/ [lagunatools.com]
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Those are tools, not skills.
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My first link was to the average salary of a CNC Machinist.
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As always, 'it depends.' I think the biggest false claims here are the time and skill aspect. It doesn't take more skill to CNC a part than it does to 3d print one, its just a different skillset. Even if you don't know G-code inside and out, modern CAD/CAM software will do it all for you as long as you set up the parameters correctly. Same deal with 3d printing. If you can model it and know your software, you can make it.
As for time, there's almost nothing you'd make on a CNC mill that would be faster to 3d print. 3d printing is incredibly useful for small runs of complex parts, fitment testing and prototyping, and parts that are just geometrically impossible to make using traditional methods. Exactly the kind of things a competitive racing team would need in a lot of cases. If you just need a bracket with a hole pattern on it? There's no way you're doing that faster with 3d printer than I am with a CNC mill. If you need thousands of something? Traditional manufacturing is still king.
Hit this poster with insightful, mods. In some ways, the CNC and 3D printing are related, but definitely a different skill.
Do you know if there is any data on relative strength of the differently manufactured parts?
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As usual, it depends, but 3D printing can be very fast, especially if the parts are small
Firstly, there's no stock preparation and clamping. For a lot of stuff, my Prusa mk4 is almost no work. I'm impressed how much easier 3D printing has become in the last decade. Most of my hard won skills are obsolete, frankly.
Milling is definitely more of a faff, but as for speed, again it depends. For some shapes you might need to hog off a bunch of stuff, compared to 3D printing which might only need to deposit a litt