The C8.R Corvette is Winning With the Help of 3D Printed Parts

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The C8.R Corvette is Winning With the Help of 3D Printed Parts


Here are some fun facts that you probably didn’t know about the Corvette Racing team and the new mid-engine C8.R racecars.

When the mid-engine C8.Rs made their debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona this January, each racecar was equipped with 75 3D printed parts that included the oil tank, tank inlet and cap, air conditioning driver cooling box and integrated hydration system, power steering pump bracket, and headlight assemblies. Fifty of these parts were designed or printed in-house by GM.

“By utilizing 3D-printed parts, Chevrolet Motorsports is demonstrating the many benefits of additive manufacturing, including manufacturing efficiencies, mass reduction, parts consolidation, creativity and cost savings,” said Audley Brown, GM director, Materials Engineering, Additive Design and Manufacturing. “3D-printed parts can offer equal strength and durability to cast or milled components, which is critical for product development and design.”

Since the car’s race debut in January, Corvette Racing has driven over 8,000 miles in eight races and has dominated the competition with six first-place wins and three 1-2 podium finishes.

Chevrolet recently shared these images of the Corvette C8.R that shows the location of the 3D printed parts on the racecar:

The C8.R Corvette is Winning With the Help of 3D Printed Parts


GM has two 3D printing facilities in Warren, Michigan, and the Corvette design and engineering teams utilized 3D printing to build about 75% of the first C8 Corvette prototypes, allowing the automaker to make changes on the fly quickly to design parts and make sure they all fit together.

Racing may be the ideal venue for utilizing 3D printed parts due to their rapid prototyping ability, as well as their durable and lightweight construction. So it’s no surprise to us that Corvette Racing has embraced 3D printing technologies for its racecars.


Source:
Chevrolet.com

Related:
Chevrolet Designers Used 3D Printing for Creating a C8 Corvette Prototype
Kirk Bennion Brings a C8 Corvette to the Cleveland Institute of Art
Corvette Interior Designer Tristen Murphy Discusses the C8’s Interior Design

 



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1 COMMENT

  1. I wholeheartedly believe in 3D printing of parts and wish that even more of those parts will find their way into the C8 Corvette as time goes by. Base materials that can be used with 3-D printers get better in maleability, durability, strength and feasibility, almost by the week. At some point, 90-100% of a race car or a street car will be able to be 3-D built. Apparently Tesla wouldn’t mind building an entire car of 3-D materials and using more of it is how they compete with the big boys, among other things. Perhaps the company will build the entire batter of mostly 3D printing in the future. AF

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