Easing to Victory – The Rennteam Uni Stuttgart Wins the Formula

Customer Case Study Automotive
Facts
Challenge
Build a reliable, lightweight
axle-pivot with high rigidity,
in the shortest possible time.
Solution
Production of a topologyoptimized steering stub axle
using EOS technology.
Results
• Optimized: perfect form
and contouring for a
reduced weight by 35%
and an increased rigidity
by 20%
• Speedy: significant
shortage in development
and production time
• Safety: reliable on the
track
In the construction the student engineers employed for the first time an additive manufacturing process
and the car went on to win the title. (Source: Rennteam Uni Stuttgart).
Easing to Victory – The Rennteam Uni Stuttgart Wins
the Formula Student Germany with EOS support
Young engineers choose additive manufacturing
to tap the full potential of the part
The greater the force in play, the greater the resulting counter-force – a relatively basic rule of
Short profile
physics. Such rules are particularly relevant in motorsports, where the stresses placed on the utilized
The Rennteam Uni Stuttgart is
materials are extreme. Taking the circuit at high speeds exposes both driver and car to the effects of
an independent club composed
such forces. The young constructors of the Rennteam Uni Stuttgart are constantly striving to optimize
of highly motivated students
the construction process and the use of materials.
from a broad range of fields.
It takes part in the Formula
More and more the sport demands that not only should the driver pilot the car ever quicker around
Student racing series, a
the track but, within the principles of the Formula Student Germany series, he should do it safely. In
competition for young
the construction of the successful 2012 model the student engineers employed for the first time an
engineers, across Europe,
additive manufacturing process in the building of the knuckles - and the car went on to win the title.
as well as being involved
EOS supported the team through its victorious Formula Student Germany season.
in other international comChallenge
possible stability – otherwise the
the wheel mounts belong to the
The knuckle – also called the axle-
safety of the vehicle as a whole
so-called unsprung mass of a vehicle.
Address
pivot – connects the wheel axle with
would be undermined. Besides a
The less there is of this mass, the
Rennteam Uni Stuttgart
the wishbones and the track rod via
fracture, part deformation can also
better the suspension and shock
Pfaffenwaldring 12
a bearing. The braking system is
have serious consequences, as the
absorption will function. A low
70569 Stuttgart (Germany)
then likewise fixed to it. The part
kinematic design and, as a result,
wheel-mount weight allows the car
www.rennteam-stuttgart.de
conducts all the forces and momen-
the drivability, would be negatively
to sit better on the track – impor-
tum absorbed from the wheels to
impacted.
tant for fast laps and safe racing.
petitions.
As a consequence, constructors are
the wishbones and the tie rod, and
Thanks to additive
manufacturing, the
weight of the knuckles
was reduced by
660 grammes in all.
Numbers that were
translated into faster
lap times and reduced
fuel consumption
(Source: Rennteam
Uni Stuttgart).
on to the vehicle chassis itself. On
On the other hand, the wheel mounts
faced with the tricky task of finding
the one hand, every constructor of
cannot, for a number of reasons,
the perfect balance between rigidity
an axle-pivot has the task of
weigh too much. Every additional
and weight.
developing a part with the highest
gramme increases lap times, and
Previous production technologies
“By the simplified, so called, 3D-Print
minimal honing for fit, so that the
offered the Stuttgart race team too
process, our machine honed
part was almost immediately
“We are thrilled to have been
little room to maneuver in the
powdered metal granules with the
race-ready.
able to bring the Formula
search for this perfect balance. “The
help of a laser, layer by layer, into
wheel mount we‘d been using over
the required part,” explains Nikolai
Results
Stuttgart. The freedom in the
the last few years had already
Zaepernick, Business Development
The advantages can be summed up
construction process offered by
achieved a good balance between
Manager Automotive at EOS. “The
in concrete figures: The weight of
the DMLS technology from EOS
weight and rigidity, but we were
victorious team from Stuttgart
the part was reduced by 660
has played an important role in
sure we could improve on it,”
decided on our partner Within’s
grammes, saving the Rennteam
our success.”
explains Yannick Löw from the
software for the construction of
Uni Stuttgart 35%. At the same
Rennteam Uni Stuttgart. “We
the CAD model, as it was the most
time the engineers succeeded in
Yannick Löw,
produced the part using the classic
suited for the part and its purpose.
increasing the rigidity by 20% - big
Rennteam Uni Stuttgart
precision casting process. This, of
The information for the manufacture
numbers for motorsports, and
course, led to limitations in freedom
of the part was provided for the
numbers that translate into faster lap
of form, which meant that the
Direct Metal Laser Sintering
times and reduced fuel consumption.
part‘s potential could never be fully
(DMLS ) machine from our
The best testimony was delivered
realized. Even back then we‘d
universally deployable software,
by the team with the result in the
decided that for the 2012 season
which had, so to say, translated
final race of the series – a victory
we‘d investigate new, innovative
the information from the existing
at the Hockenheimring that
ways of manufacturing the steering
3D-CAD-model. The result was
crowned the Stuttgart race team
stub axle.” It didn‘t take long for
amazing and showed just how much
as Formula Student Germany
the team to decide upon the path
the young engineers already
Champions 2012.
to take: The EOS-technology.
understand about their subject.”
TM
Student Germany 2012 title to
“We are thrilled to have been able
Solution
Once the team had designed the
to bring the Formula Student
As early as the conceptual design
steering stub axle, the production of
Germany 2012 title to Stuttgart.
phase, the engineers utilized the
the first component parts followed
The freedom in the construction
CAD software from EOS partners
immediately. The fact that the
process offered by the DMLS
Within Technologies Ltd. Within is a
development and production time
technology from EOS has played
young company, whose programmers
could be significantly shortened
an important role in our success,”
wrote their software specifically
when compared to previously
says Löw. All those involved have
for the additive manufacturing
utilized processes was important
shown with this victory that the
process. The program makes possible
for the team. There were a number
engineering profession can be a lot
the optimization of latticed
of reasons for the time savings.
of fun – and ultimately, that there
micro-structures of variable densities
One is that with additive manufac-
are a multitude of interesting and
following examples found in nature.
turing the need to build negatives or
exciting ways of responding to the
Thanks to this tool the constructors
mould forms falls by the wayside.
shortage of technical specialists.
were able to match the part
In addition the entire process,
And the allure of new technologies,
perfectly to the structural require-
from design through fabrication is
such as additive manufacturing,
ments. In this way, they were able
more precise, meaning that often no
can play a role in this, inspiring
to give the knuckle precisely the
reworking or refining is required.
down the line more and more
required physical properties – light-
In this case the constructors from
young people to take a serious
weight plus rigidity.
Stuttgart reached a high production
look at a career in engineering.
quality in a very short time with
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Status 11/2012. Technical data subject to change without notice. EOS is certified according to ISO 9001.