Bombardier Transportation to use 3D printer from Stratasys

Israeli 3D printing company Stratasys has announced Bombardier Transportation’s adoption of its industrial-grade F900 3D printer.

The fused deposition modeling (FDM) printer features a large build tray and uses Stratasys’ ULTEM 9085 resin, meaning parts will feature high strength-to-weight ratios as well as thermal and chemical resistance.

In the press release, Andreas Langfeld, President EMEA Stratasys said “Bombardier Transportation’s investment in our F900 3D Printer is synonymous with the huge interest we’re seeing in the mobility sector for industrial-grade 3D printing solutions that can enhance, and in many cases replace, traditional manufacturing across a variety of interior and exterior rail applications.”

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The deployment of the large scale industrial printing technology is said to allow Bombardier to accelerate and customize rail part production, reduce costly inventory for spare parts and increase production flexibility. Bombardier will use the printer to produce end-use interior and exterior rail parts, customized manufacturing tools and prototypes for trains and trams across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

André Bialoscek, the Head of Vehicle Physical Integration Hennigsdorf, Bombardier, said: “The Stratasys F900 3D Printer allows us to widen our service offering in such a way that we are now able to 3D print large spare parts, customized rail parts and manufacturing tools – all in-house and on-demand. Having previously used fiber glass and tin for train components, the ability to now utilize ULTEM™ 9085 resin meets our application criteria and takes us to a new level in terms of reducing the costs and lengthy lead times associated with those traditional materials.”

The printer will be installed at Bombardier Transportation’s manufacturing site in Hennigsdorf, Germany. Bombardier Transportation is the Germany based rail division of multinational manufacturer Bombardier.