Dynamis PRC team uses 3D printing to create DP13 Autonoma racing car

The Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) Dynamis PRC team has designed a new single-seat racing car, utilizing the RadiciGroup Radilon Adline brand of 3D printing filaments. Over one hundred engineering and design students worked on fine-tuning the new 2022 electric model, which, for the first time, is also designed to work in self-driving mode.

Every year, the PoliMi Dynamis PRC racing team designs a new prototype Formula SAE car that competes in the international university engineering design championship. In the last two racing seasons, the Dynamis PRC team was ranked as the best Italian team and achieved notable results at the international level.

“This year, the Group decided to support the PoliMi university project, in keeping with the Group’s care for supporting young students who are committed to combine both their studies and extracurricular activities in the automotive sector, where RadiciGroup has great competence in materials and applications,” commented Angelo Radici, President of RadiciGroup.

“We were contacted by the PoliMi team to see if we could support them with our innovative materials,” said Chiara Devasini, Marketing & Development project leader of RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers. “For over 40 years, we have been part of the automotive supply chain. We provide innumerable solutions that have been developed to meet demanding technical requirements and, in recent years, we have been particularly focusing on e-mobility. After a series of meetings concerning the young students’ needs for their new project, we thought of using one of the products in our Radilon Adline range specifically developed for additive manufacturing. These filaments are based on special polymer grades that have advanced technical characteristics, such as mechanical, chemical, and thermal resistance, and are suitable not only for prototyping but also for manufacturing functional and structural components, as needed in this project.”

Using the RadiciGroup material, the Politecnico di Milano team of students printed an engine cable support and flap ribs for the race car. The support is needed to keep the engine cable in the correct position and becomes very fragile during sharp turns. The internal ribs are essential components for the structure and behavior of the carbon wing profile.

Thanks to the collaboration of Ciano Shapes, the official RadiciGroup distributor of 3D printing materials – small wing prototypes were printed. These parts were essential for the Dynamis team to make certain technical assessments of the component design. This collaboration aimed at experimenting and identifying new solutions for the future.

“The components of the DP3 car had to be developed with high performance, yet lightweight, products,” noted Ambra Suardi, R&D scouting and consumer industrial goods project leader of RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers. “The light weight of the car is a fundamental requirement, but during the development of the project, we determined that both the engine cable support and the aerodynamic flap ribs are parts under mechanical stress. Radilon Adline CS CF10 HP BK is a specific product for additive manufacturing that is polyamide-based and reinforced with carbon fiber. Consequently, the density of the grade allows for the development of lightweight yet high-performance parts, featuring excellent mechanical resistance and stiffness. Additionally, our Radilon Adline CS CF10 HP BK is characterized by good processability during 3D printing, a factor that makes it suitable even for printers that are not high-end professional models, as well as versatile for use in a wide range of applications.”