Additive Manufacturing Special Report - November 2023 - 6

3D-Printed Cars
In 2022, Czinger Vehicles
revealed the second
body style of its 21C, the
21C V Max. Engineered
for ultimate acceleration
and top speed, the V
Max's extended and
aerodynamics-driven
tail profile sets it apart
from its original highdownforce
counterpart.
The last piece is our aluminum-based alloys, which we can
readily remelt, atomize and turn into new parts.
SAE: You're working with Xtrac on gearboxes?
Czinger: We're doing 3D-printed cases. That has allowed us to
integrate some of the cooling into that printed case. It's a
7-speed AMT and it's electronically actuated; normally, these
things are hydraulically actuated. It'll be kind of a world-first
for them as well.
SAE: Are you working on any other vehicles subsystems?
Czinger: We call it functional integration, which essentially
means taking the vehicle systems like braking or the
powertrain or heating motors and tying them into the
structure of the car, either hard mounting or with some
sort of buffer in between. One example we've shown is a
braking system where we're actually printing the caliper
directly into the knuckle of the car. So it becomes one
piece. You can self-service the brake pads and the rotor
quite effectively, but you're passing hydraulic fluid directly
into that printed caliper structure and you're integrating it
into the knuckle.
We're going after the EV motor housing, making it structural
and getting rid of this box-inside-a-box architecture. We're also
looking at battery boxes to determine if we can integrate the
cooling or a battery-management system into the case.
On the 21C essentially all the air systems - engine intake,
exhaust - are printed today. We print the headers and exhaust
system and our turbo systems are largely printed as well. And
now we're starting to look at the core engine block, things like
pistons and the block design itself, because as you can probably
imagine, handling complex fluid transfers for cooling are is a really
good application for unique geometries and packaging.
6 NOVEMBER 2023
SAE: Durability testing?
Czinger: There are running cars out there and they're getting
quite a few miles onto them. Fifty thousand miles? No. But
thousands of miles.
For the 21C, we wanted to build a car that was exceptionally
durable. If you wanted to race this car for 24 hours straight,
the 21C is a car that from a cooling and a durability
standpoint, should have that level of reliability.
SAE: Talk about bonding versus welding, riveting, or
bolting dissimilar metals.
Czinger: It's a selling point. We developed the adhesive we
use to bond large structures. That adhesive is an insulator
that's got very low shrinkage and good CTE (coefficient of
thermal expansion) properties. Essentially, it allows us to
bond dissimilar materials without galvanic interaction. And
no concerns regarding expansion or shrinkage of the
material.
SAE: How much of the 21C can be recycled?
Czinger: I don't have a percentage off the top of my head, but
I'd say near 100% of our chassis should be able to be recycled.
3D Systems: F1 Racing Highlights Broad
Portfolio
SAE: Speed obviously is of importance to an F1 team - both
on the track and for development and testing. Are you
producing test pieces as well as production pieces for the
racecar via your wind tunnel testing?
Pat Warner: Yes, we use additive in our wind tunnel, for
manufacturing aids for the car and for direct components of
the car itself. Almost everything you can see [on the F1 car],
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SPECIAL REPORT
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Additive Manufacturing Special Report - November 2023

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