Stratasys Ltd., a leader in polymer 3D printing solutions, announced that it has been named an official partner of Toyota Racing Development (TRD). The partnership will make its debut with 3D printed production parts on the forthcoming Toyota GR86 for the GR Cup, a new single-make racing series sanctioned by SRO America.
“Additive manufacturing has allowed us to quickly iterate, design, and create parts for our race vehicles in a way that would have been far more expensive or labor intensive through traditional manufacturing methods,” said David Wilson, President of TRD. “By partnering with Stratasys we are able to advance our manufacturing practices beyond what is currently possible and really harness the possibilities of additive manufacturing for production parts.”
TRD is expanding its use of additive manufacturing from prototyping to end-use parts by integrating Stratasys Fortus® 450mc, F370 and the new composite-ready F370®CR 3D printers into their manufacturing facilities in Salisbury, N.C. and Costa Mesa, Calif. The industrial-grade 3D printers will be used to create end-use parts, including an FDM® Nylon 12CF hood vent for their new production vehicle the Toyota GR86, as well as to create a wide range of end-use parts across the TRD product portfolio. Further, TRD has been a long-standing customer of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, utilizing various additive manufacturing technologies for prototyping. TRD will further utilize Stratasys Direct services to 3D print a clamp for the GR86, utilizing the Stratasys H350™ 3D printer powered by SAF™ technology and using sustainable Stratasys High Yield PA11 material.
“This new partnership represents a significant moment in the evolution of additive manufacturing for high performance automotive racing applications,” said Pat Carey, Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships for Stratasys. “We will partner with TRD to support their efforts as they further adopt, prove out and integrate additive manufacturing into their production as a prototyping, tooling and end-use parts solution across the GR86 and TRD custom parts as well.”
TRD plans to continue to integrate additive manufacturing into their manufacturing processes for TRD-branded vehicles and racing cars. The GR Cup, featuring the GR86, is set to begin in 2023.
