Montreal-based Formula SAE team enlists Renishaw to 3D print critical metal parts
A Montreal-based Formula SAE team from the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) turned to metal additive manufacturing to improve the performance of its electric race car. The vehicle, called the MANIC-23, ultimately integrated a series of lightweight 3D printed components that helped it attain podium results in a number of races.
Formula SAE is a university competition that since 1980 has invited teams of students to design, manufacture and race small-scale formula-style race cars. Today, 600 teams from all over the world compete in Formula SAE, spending up to a year creating their vehicles. One of those teams is from the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) in Montreal, Canada, which has competed in the combustion category of Formula SAE for over 30 years. For the past few years, however, it has been participating in the electric vehicle race, which has entailed significant redesigns of its vehicle concept.
In the lead-up to the 2023 racing season, the Formule ETS team was determined to make a winning electric vehicle and enlisted the help of metal additive manufacturing company Renishaw to supply a number of optimized critical components that would give its car an edge.
“Formule ETS is a serious competitor in Formula SAE, we have been reaching the podium in the combustion category for years,” explained Léa Tonini, Biomechanical Engineering Student at ETS and 2023-24 Co-Captain of Formule ETS. “When we made the decision to switch to an electric vehicle, we wanted to do so in a way that continued to push the boundaries of motorsports and maintained our leading position.”
The team’s main target was to redesign and 3D print uprights, critical components that connect sub-assemblies in the vehicle and are vital to the transmission of wheel motion to the suspension arms and shock absorbers. In the vehicle, there are four uprights, each of which houses an electric motor. Previously these parts had been made using CNC machining and 7075-T6 aluminum. However, with metal AM on the team’s radar, it redesigned the parts with an impressive organic structure that significantly reduced weight.
“We identified that metal additive manufacturing would give us the design freedom to create lightweight parts without compromising the vehicle performance, while meeting the requested target compliance targets of the suspension sub-team. However, we could not initially find a partner capable of producing the new uprights,” added Gélinas.
Renishaw, which has collaborated with another Formula Student team in the past, came on board to help, not only supplying the 3D printed components, but advising on design choices, topology optimization and material selection. In the end, the partners decided to work with AlSi10Mg powder for its combination of stiffness and lightweight properties.
In the end, the 3D printed uprights were substantially lighter than their machined counterparts: the front uprights were 30% lighter, while the back ones were 28% lighter. According to the team, this reduction in weight translated to superior control over the race car’s dynamic behavior. On top of that, the 3D printed design resulted in an 18% reduction in camber compliance for the front uprights and 45% less material usage.
With 3D printed components integrated, the MANIC-23 performed impressively, winning the North American Electric FSAE 2023 competition in Michigan and taking second place in Croatia’s FSAE Alpe Adria race. “MANIC-23 is a significant leap in terms of power, precision and compactness from our previous vehicle,” Tonini concluded. “With regards to the uprights, Renishaw was the cornerstone that enabled successful project completion, due to its technical expertise, production capabilities and enthusiastic investment in our team and the innovation we are striving to achieve.”
