Stratasys Ltd., a polymer 3D printing solutions leader, recently announced that it has been named an official 3D printing partner of Toyota Racing Development (TRD). The collaboration will make its debut on the upcoming Toyota GR86 for the GR Cup, a new single-make racing series sanctioned by SRO America, with 3D printed production parts.
Talking about its new 3D printing partner Stratasys, David Wilson, President of TRD said, “Additive manufacturing has allowed us to quickly iterate, design, and create parts for our race vehicles in a way that would have been far more expensive or labor intensive through traditional manufacturing methods. By partnering with Stratasys we are able to advance our manufacturing practices beyond what is currently possible and really harness the possibilities of additive manufacturing for production parts.”
Official 3D Printing Partner
Toyota Racing Development, founded in 1954, is the in-house tuning shop for all Toyota and Lexus vehicles. TRD is in charge of improving street cars for increased performance as well as supporting Toyota’s racing interests around the world.
TRD is integrating Stratasys Fortus® 450mc, F370, and the new composite-ready F370®CR 3D printers into their manufacturing facilities in Salisbury, N.C. and Costa Mesa, Calif., to expand its use of additive manufacturing from prototyping to end-use parts. The industrial-grade 3D printers will be used to create end-use parts, such as an FDM® Nylon 12CF hood vent for the Toyota GR86, as well as a wide range of end-use parts across the TRD product portfolio.
TRD has also been a long-time customer of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, using various additive manufacturing technologies for prototyping. TRD will also use Stratasys Direct services to 3D print a clamp for the GR86, using the Stratasys H350TM 3D printer powered by SAFTM technology and the environmentally friendly Stratasys High Yield PA11 material.
“This new partnership represents a significant moment in the evolution of additive manufacturing for high performance automotive racing applications. We will partner with TRD to support their efforts as they further adopt, prove out and integrate additive manufacturing into their production as a prototyping, tooling and end-use parts solution across the GR86 and TRD custom parts as well.”
– Pat Carey, Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships for Stratasys
TRD intends to integrate additive manufacturing into their manufacturing processes for TRD-branded vehicles and racing cars in the future. The GR Cup, which will feature the GR86, will begin in 2023.
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