3D-printed pistons gain 30 HP in 911 GT2 RS!

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

And they're 10% lighter! Is this the new wave of engine building? Frank Ickinger, a member of Porsche's advance drive development department, said in this statement below:

Thanks to the new, lighter pistons, we can increase the engine speed, lower the temperature load on the pistons, and optimize combustion. This makes it possible to get up to 30 horsepower more from the 690-horsepower, twin-turbocharged engine [in the 911 GT2 RS] while at the same time improving efficiency.

This manufacturing technology is also technically and economically interesting for Porsche for special and small series as well as motorsports.

Although, there is no real confirmation about if these 3D-printed pistons would be durable as forged pistons and they also didn't announce plans for them to be put into a production car. There's also no discussion on cost of what this would be to produce.

Read more about it here.

[HardDrive]

I'm heavy into 3D printing. There are some amazing things going on in that space.

[aschen]

Looks like they used generative design to optimize the geometry around the wrist pin as well, with the organic looking structures

[wdfifteen]

Couldn't get the link to open. Are they actually printing aluminum particles? Or is it titanium?

[plain fan]

I believe it was proprietary aluminum powder from Mahle.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Couldn't get the link to open. Are they actually printing aluminum particles? Or is it titanium?

This is what they said.

The company 3D-printed a set of six pistons for the 911 GT2 RS with high-purity metal powder using what it calls a laser metal fusion process. Heat generated by laser beams melts the powder surface into a pre-determined shape, so this is far more advanced than your neighbor's kid's 3D printer.

[Geneman]

heres the video... its quite amazing...

[RWebb]

Zehr Gut!

Now they can make a light wt. strut where material is only used where forces exist...

[VillaRicaGA911]

Carbon fiber wheels, 3D printed parts, things are about to get very interesting in the internal combustion engine world. I wonder who in F1 is already doing this, if Porsche is even on an experimental bases and telling the world about it then what is Red Bull, Mercedes or McLaren doing in F1 that they are not telling anyone about.

[mjohnson]

The organic structures are amazing in their own right but I don't see any mention of one of the "big deals" of additive manufacturing from 20 years ago - functionally graded materials.

("FGM" was cool before "nano" was in the materials world - now both are old news I guess)

With FGM you build the material properties into the structure as you, well, build the structure. Need some toughness here and some hardness over there? Here you go...

I kind of left materials stuff about then and moved into PowerPoint engineering but I hope the concept still gets attention.

I remember seeing basically a NC multi-axis welder laying down freestanding material from blended powder feedstocks at Los Alamos in 1999 - and it was like seeing the future! Then I think the program died.

They hired me the same year, so coincidence?

[RKDinOKC]

Piston weight is one thing for RPM, the other is the valve train.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Aerospace, especially engine manufacturers, have been heavily investing into 3D printing of metallic structural parts for a while now. Shaping of parts like turbine and compressor blades has been partially limited by fabrication methods, but with 3D printing the opportunities are nearly endless. I’m not sure if they are doing any flight critical parts yet, but that future is coming.

[sammyg2]

My son's team's rocket engine:

PROPULSION
Launch is powered by the 3d printed RBF-1, a 1000 lbf LOX/Methane. RBF-1 uses a pintle injector, providing reliable combustion in a simple to manufacture form factor.
The main combustion chamber is 3d printed with regenerative cooling channels in Haynes 282. These channels help keep the hot-gas side wall temperature below the material's melting point, allowing for engine reuse

[RWebb]

has 3D printing every been used for ceramics?

like say a brake rotor?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by VillaRicaGA911

Carbon fiber wheels, 3D printed parts, things are about to get very interesting in the internal combustion engine world. I wonder who in F1 is already doing this, if Porsche is even on an experimental bases and telling the world about it then what is Red Bull, Mercedes or McLaren doing in F1 that they are not telling anyone about.

An intern that worked with me back in 95 or 96 made a carbon fibre road car wheel for his final year degree project. He tested it on his Saab 96 , might have even been the first ever prototype carbon road car wheel

All F1 teams use 3D printed parts, not sure if any engine manufacturers are doing the same thing as Porsche as the high 15,000 RPM loads maybe too much for a sintered piston to survive.

First time I designed parts for 3D printing was in 97, my first impression was it's James Bond technology like Q would have used . Technology/materials have come a long way since then. F1 teams started with wind tunnel model plastic parts and then plastic car parts and then metal parts. Some teams can even manufacture parts at the track.

I've designed parts in all sorts of materials including titanium. Takes a special kind of thinking when creating the shapes as the normal shape constraints with more traditional manufacturing methods don't apply. It does have it's limits and not the 'do all' answer to everything.

Just this week I had a 3D supplier call me up asking if I had a project they could use as a show case to present to EV road car manufacturers. I'd previously done some 'tricky' parts with this supplier before. We really pushed the limits of their processes so I'm guessing they must have liked what I did

[GDNF2ET]

Originally Posted by RWebb

has 3D printing every been used for ceramics?

like say a brake rotor?

Tungsten carbide coated is the latest rotor thingy.. Don't ask how much !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=26&v=ZCj83_uF9dE&feature=emb_logo

[RWebb]

too heavy - I'm Lookin' for Lightness

[Jeff Higgins]

I had the opportunity to utilize this technology for several years prior to my retirement. It was a very handy tool to have in one's tool kit in our odd little corner of the aviation world. We used it to produce smaller tooling, finding it to be a good deal faster than conventional machining in many cases. Not any sort of a "be all, end all" by any means, but very good for specific applications.

The company had just begun to make "flyaway" parts with this technology by the time I had left. Baby steps - they were all interior trim parts, and none of them "structural" in any way. Think plastic trim bits that are traditionally die cast, extruded, drape formed, and such. They were just delving into the certification processes for some more "critical" parts, so I would think they are by now producing at least something beyond little decorative tid bits.

[Axel84]

its not 3d printing as we know it, its lazer metal sintering - close to 3d printing but different.
Quite an expensive process but brilliant to see. You can produce components which are impossible to produce by other methods. great tech