German Automaker

Achive Faster Casting with Lover Costs

Premier Auto Manufacturer saved over 50% in cost and gained flexibility for casting design changes

Customer Challenge

Automotive manufacturer needed a way to quickly and
economically produce complex prototypes.

The Solution

Printed sand parts to form a complete package for
creating castings.

ExOne Competitive Advantage

Additive manufacturing offers shorter lead times,
accommodates changes in design rapidly and enables
product design improvements at a reduced cost.

Conclusion

ExOne’s digital printing process offered significant time
and cost advantages over both conventional and other
additive technologies for castings.

About ExOne

ExOne digital part materialization uses three-dimensional
printing to create complex molds and cores directly from CAD
data for a variety of industries, with accuracies of ± 0.011 in. or
± 0.3mm. The ExOne process achieves geometric complexity
and scale unmatched using conventional casting techniques.
The process produces accurate, uniform cores and molds
rapidly, significantly reducing lead times.

Specifications

Part: Formula 1 Transmission Housing
Batch Size: 5 pieces
Material Cast: Aluminum alloy 356
Material Printed: Silica sand with furan binder system
Printed Volume: 200 L for complete mold package

Traditional Method

Patterns and tools for sand core forming, lost foam model parts.
Cost per Lot: 15,000-20,000 €

ExOne® Sand Printing Method

Production Time: 4 hours
Cost per Part: 1,500 €