GreenTeam Uni Stuttgart – 3D Printed Racing Cooler Additive Manufactured Cooling System of an Electric Racing Car
Component design saves weight and space
Flame retardant material meets fire protection requirements (UL94V-0)
Cooling properties increase racing performance
I see additive manufacturing as a revolutionary way of turning ideas into reality. For an engineer, it‘s like a dream come true: to think in terms of the optimal structure and not to have to make any compromises when it comes to shaping it... We will still need some time before we can optimally bring the incredible possibilities of 3D printing in all its facets to industry. Anyway, I‘m proud to contribute to that process
Design of a Flow Optimized, Oil Resistant and Flameproof Distribution Unit for the Cooling System of an Electric Racing Car
Racers must keep a cool head - their cars should not overheat either. This applies equally to racing cars with combustion engines and electric motors. The difference: in fuel-fired racers the engine has to be tempered, in electric vehicles this must be considered in particular for the accumulator. The Formula Student team from Stuttgart has solved this task in the truest sense of the word with an additively manufactured oil cooling system and support from EOS.
Due to the planned construction geometry and the incorporated hollow structures as well as, of course, the very small number of units, additive manufacturing was the best choice for the production process.
The team used the flame-retardant PA 2210 FR as the material for 3D printing. The aggressive coolant can‘t harm it, so no particles can be dissolved out and clog the system.
With the optimized cooling system, the GreenTeam can now use the possible 80 kW maximum power at any time during the whole race. In addition, the solution can preheat the battery pack to up to 45 degrees Celsius for the start of the race so that this power is available from the first lap. This gives the race team a significant performance advantage.
Production went absolutely smoothly and the material kept what it promised. We were able to convert our solution into a reliable and functioning real component as planned and within a very short time.
