For electric vehicles, lightweight structural design is of great significance. Because in addition to the battery level, the weight of the car is also a limiting factor for the distance traveled. The lighter the vehicle, the more batteries are allowed to be equipped and the longer the driving range will be. In addition to increasing the driving distance, the performance of the vehicle is significantly enhanced when the vehicle is lighter. Because lighter vehicles accelerate faster, drive more agile corners, and have shorter braking times.
In the view of 3D Science Valley, 3D printing technology has great potential in the research and development of electric vehicles, as well as in the realization of new body structures, lightweight structures, automotive interiors, and intelligent interconnection. According to market insights from 3D Science Valley, Divergent Technologies is working with Bugatti to design, design, additively manufacture and assemble chassis and suspension components for the Bugatti Tourbillon using the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS).
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Bugatti introduced a 3D printing production line
Boost vehicle performance
Bugatti's Chiron successor, the Tourbillon, uses 3D printing technology to optimize the body structure. The use of this technology has led to significant improvements in body design, weight reduction and performance improvements. For example, the Tourbillon's chassis and suspension system are made using Divergent's DAPS additive manufacturing technology, which is 45% lighter than the Chiron through aluminum alloy 3D printing. This not only enhances the vehicle's dynamics and aerodynamics, but also reflects Bugatti's relentless commitment to extreme performance and luxury.
Through the application of 3D printing technology, Bugatti has not only made breakthroughs in performance, but also demonstrated innovation in design and manufacturing processes. The application of these technologies indicates the future development direction of automobile manufacturing, and also provides valuable reference and inspiration for other automobile manufacturers.
Divergent's digital, end-to-end approach to vehicle design and manufacturing enables Bugatti to unlock a more efficient manufacturing process for vehicle chassis geometries that significantly reduce vehicle weight and improve performance.
The aerodynamic design of the Tourbillon has evolved around Bugatti's horseshoe grille, Bugatti lines, central ridge and two-tone split, designed to optimize performance and reach a top speed of 445 km/h.
Powered by an all-new naturally aspirated V16 engine and electric powertrain, the Tourbillon produces 1,800 horsepower, with 1,000 horsepower coming from the internal combustion engine itself and 800 horsepower coming from an electric motor – two electric motors mounted on the front axle and one electric motor mounted on the rear axle.
bright spot
The Bugatti Tourbillon is a brand new supercar that is the successor to the Chiron. According to the latest news, the car was named "Tourbillon", which means "tourbillon", symbolizing its new breakthrough in speed and technology. Here are some key facts about Tourbillon:
Performance: The Tourbillon is powered by a 1,775 hp plug-in hybrid powertrain consisting of a naturally aspirated V16 engine and three electric motors. The engine itself makes 986 hp, while the electric motor provides an additional 789 hp.
Battery & Charging: The new car is equipped with a 25 kWh battery, which can provide an all-electric range of more than 37 miles (about 59.55 km). It also supports 800V high-voltage charging, and the 0-80% charging time is only 12 minutes.
Speed: The Tourbillon can reach a top speed of 276 miles per hour (about 445 kilometers per hour). Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac said that the new car will be faster than the Chiron, and plans to reduce the acceleration time from zero to 100 to 2 seconds and the 0-200 km/h acceleration time to less than 5 seconds.
Production and price: The Tourbillon will be produced in a limited edition of 250 units, with a starting price of 3.2 million pounds, or about 29.592 million yuan. Users may not be able to pick up their cars until after 2026.
Design & Materials: Every surface, air intake and ridge of the Tourbillon has been carefully designed to meet the requirements of aerodynamics and thermodynamics. The interior of the car is equipped with a dashboard designed and manufactured by a Swiss watchmaker, using precious materials such as titanium, sapphire and ruby.
Weight & Construction: Weighing just 1,995kg overall, the new car features a fully customised carbon fibre shell and 3D printed parts to increase stiffness and reduce weight
Flexible mass production
As mentioned in the book "3D Printing and Industrial Manufacturing", the application of 3D printing technology in the automotive manufacturing industry will eventually be driven by the future direction of automotive design. The next generation of automotive technology is developing in the direction of lightweight, intelligent and personalized, and the design iteration cycle of automobiles will continue to be shortened.
According to 3D Science Valley's market observations, Divergent announced the purchase of five SLM Solutions metal 3D printing machines as pre-production equipment in 2019 in order to accelerate the development and launch of lightweight suspension and chassis components for 3D printed vehicles. More metal 3D printing equipment will be installed in the future to achieve the goal of mass production of safe structural parts for car manufacturers.
The supercar manufactured by Divergent features a revolutionary 3D-printed chassis structure and also features universally designed and validated lightweight suspension and chassis components, including a set of control arms manufactured by 3D printed equipment jointly developed with SLM Solutions. The suspension and chassis components are manufactured using SLM Solutions' metal 3D printing machines SLM®800, SLM®500 and SLM®280 and have successfully withstood more than 450,000 kilometers of simulated road tests.
In addition to design and 3D printing, software plays an important role in Divergent's manufacturing roadmap, the Divergent Manufacturing Platform™, Divergent's patented software-hardware platform, whose core manufacturing technology is powder bed laser melting 3D printing, which Divergent uses to fundamentally change the way vehicle structures are designed, engineered, and assembled.
Divergent uses 3D printing technology to create a revolutionary chassis structure, through metal 3D printing to create an aluminum "node" structure, connecting carbon fiber tubes and nodes together, through the software to quickly realize the design of the customer's custom car to the actual production, the software optimizes the design of structural parts from multiple perspectives such as aerodynamics, materials and safety, and fully considers the design of the car and the connection between the carbon fiber rod and the 3D printed node.
If you know deeply, you can go far by doing. Based on a global network of manufacturing experts, 3D Science Valley provides the industry with an in-depth look at additive and intelligent manufacturing from a global perspective. For more analysis in the field of additive manufacturing, follow the white paper series published by 3D Science Valley.
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