Toyota Racing uses polyamide to 3D print hood vents, clamps and more

Latest: Polymer 3D printing technology company Stratasys is now Toyota Racing Development (TRD)
official partner. The partnership will debut using 3D printed production parts on the upcoming GR Cup Toyota GR86, a new single-brand racing series approved by SRO America.

David Wilson, President of TRD, said: “Additive manufacturing has allowed us to rapidly iterate, design and manufacture our racing parts, where traditional manufacturing methods are much more cost or labor intensive. By partnering with Stratasys, we are able to advance our manufacturing Practice going beyond what’s currently possible and actually using additive manufacturing to produce parts.”

TRD expands the use of additive manufacturing beyond prototyping by integrating Stratasys Fortus 450mc, F370 and new composite-ready F370 CR 3D printers into its manufacturing facilities in Salisbury, NC and Costa Mesa, CA to end-use parts. Industrial-grade 3D printers will be used to manufacture end-use parts, including the FDM Nylon 12CF hood vent for the new Toyota GR86 production car, as well as to manufacture various end-use parts across the TRD portfolio. Additionally, TRD has been a long-term customer of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, using a variety of additive manufacturing techniques for prototyping. TRD will further utilize Stratasys Direct services to print fixtures for the GR86, utilizing a Stratasys H350 3D printer powered by SAF technology and using sustainable Stratasys high-yield polyamide (PA) 11 material.

“This new partnership represents an important moment in the evolution of additive manufacturing for high-performance racing applications,” said Pat Carey, senior vice president of strategic partnerships at Stratasys. “We will work with TRD to support their further adoption, demonstration and implementation of additive manufacturing.” Manufacturing is integrated into their production as prototypes, tooling and end-use parts solutions for GR86 and TRD custom parts.”

TRD plans to continue integrating additive manufacturing into its manufacturing processes for TRD-branded vehicles and race cars.