Key to the widespread adoption of 3D printing within mainstream manufacturing is the use of the technology to produce critical components for high stress applications. To that end, one leader of fused deposition modeling (FDM), Stratasys, has gotten its 3D printed plastic parts aboard aircraft, spacecraft and automobiles, often demonstrating that not only can 3D printing replace traditional manufacturing techniques but that plastic can be used to replace metal. Parts made with the company’s technology are now being sent under the sea via an entry into the European International Submarine Races, which take place in Gosport, England, from July 6-15.
For their racing sub, a team of six engineering students at the University of Warwick have relied heavily on 3D printing, creating what they claim is the “most 3D printed vessel on the grid.” A hard claim to validate, but with a 3D printed propeller shroud and blades, fins and their enclosing feet, housings, fixtures and internal steering mechanisms, the Godiva 2 submarine is quite 3D printed, indeed.
The university’s Warwick Manufacturing Group has challenged its Master of Engineering students to build human-powered submarines for the event every year for the past four years. Having used their 3D printer only to prototype last year’s ship, the Warwick Submarine team decided to implement the technology for the sub itself this year. The team turned to a Stratasys Fortus 3D printer to produce complex geometries for the vessel quickly and within budget, fabricating all of the 3D-printed parts from Stratasys’ ABS-M30 thermoplastic.
As a result, the team claims to have constructed their sub 90 percent quicker than if they had used traditional manufacturing techniques, and to have saved GBP£2,000-£3,000 (roughly USD$2,900 to $4,300). Warwick student and project leader, Josh Dobson, adds that the 3D-printed parts “can perform in the harshest waters, which is incredible given the speed and cost at which they can be produced.”
Dobson also mentions the material savings possible with 3D printing, particularly with the more intricate components of the sub. “Having access to this technology gives us the flexibility to produce extremely complex and multifunctional parts cost effectively and on demand,” Dobson says. “For example, our fixing feet are an incredibly complex piece of geometry and have been 3D printed to perfectly fit the hull at virtually no additional cost, yet remain as functional and strong as a traditionally manufactured part. In addition, by creating the part using 3D printing, we've reduced material wastage by about 75 percent compared to machining the part traditionally from a solid piece of metal, which bodes well for a future of more sustainable manufacturing.”
Followers of the 3D printing industry will pick up on the fact that the technology is being increasingly used in such student projects as this. The technology acts as a quick method for producing components within the tight budgetary and time constraints of these engineering contests. At the same time, student teams are able to offer proofs-of-concept to established companies to demonstrate what 3D printing can do for mainstream manufacturing.