3D Printing Trade had the chance to ask Pink Bull’s Ian Handscombe how the corporate makes use of 3D printing in Formulation One and the way superior manufacturing offers the group competing as Oracle Pink Bull Racing the profitable edge. “I don’t assume we’ll proceed to be on observe except we embrace [3D printing],” he stated, underscoring the significance of additive know-how. Handscombe, Head of High quality Engineering at Pink Bull Racing, has three many years of expertise within the automotive business and engaging insights into each the game and the “quickest rising know-how” inside F1.
An instrumental a part of Oracle Pink Bull Racing’s success, Handscombe defined, is because of the transformative results of their technical partnerships, notably with corporations like Hexagon. “We couldn’t do it with out the skilled assist we get from our companions,” he acknowledged. With them, Pink Bull has been in a position to combine superior applied sciences into their operations, pushing the boundaries of efficiency whereas sustaining the security and reliability of their racing automobiles.
Whereas recounting his experiences, Handscombe painted a vivid image of Formulation One in 2023 – a demanding circuit spanning 22 races, 5 continents, and 9 months of the 12 months. From the technical complexities of adapting to different racing circumstances to the logistics of transferring a complete group across the globe, the challenges are immense.
But, it’s the relentless pursuit of innovation and the starvation for victory that drive the Oracle Pink Bull Racing group ahead. “We’re unified by our need to be the perfect and our need to win,” Handscombe professed. From optimizing the automobile for the quickest observe on the calendar to adjusting for the twisty streets of Monaco, the place downforce is essential to success, or the concentrate on cooling to beat scorching and humid circumstances in Singapore, the group’s fixed try for perfection has been pivotal to their success.
Handscombe additionally supplied some intriguing insights into the recognition of the game. “F1 attracts a worldwide fan base of 530 million. It’s greater than the Champions League within the UK and greater than the NFL. Solely the World Cup and the Olympics outdo us,” he acknowledged, drawing consideration to the game’s immense world enchantment.
On the subject of the Pink Bull Ford Powertrains program, Handscombe mentioned Pink Bull’s fast-paced know-how developments and the agency’s growth into e-sports, alongside the manufacturing of a £5 million two-seater hypercar, “This can be a automobile with all that Formulation One know-how inbuilt,” he defined. Manufacturing of the RB17 on the Pink Bull Expertise Campus in Milton Keynes, UK, is slated for 2025. Solely fifty of those expensive beasts shall be manufactured, making every a prized possession.
Handscombe supplied precious insights into the challenges and alternatives of progress which can be relevant to any high-performing group. “Rising up quick,” he says, “It’s an actual problem to attempt to maintain that DNA that we constructed and to attempt to maintain that group spirit.” His remarks underscore the paradox confronted by any rising group: sustaining their pioneering spirit whereas adapting to new scales and scopes.
The magnitude of Pink Bull’s ambitions turns into even clearer. Handscombe describes a daring enterprise: the event of their very personal powertrain enterprise. “In the long run, we thought, why not? Why not take future into our personal fingers and management our future.” This audacious venture goals to design, manufacture, construct, and take a look at all engine-related actions from 2026 onwards, with the purpose of profitable extra races and championships. However such daring strikes aren’t with out their obstacles. “This can be a fairly bold venture even for Pink Bull,” admitted Handscombe. The in-house engine venture is a significant milestone within the group’s evolution. Pink Bull automobiles have been powered by Ferrari, Renault, and, since 2019, Honda.
In accordance with Handscombe, Hexagon has been instrumental in figuring out what tools Oracle Pink Bull Racing wanted, serving to ship it, helping within the growth, and offering coaching. Handscombe elucidates, “For this enterprise, Hexagon has been with us each step of the way in which.” This displays Pink Bull’s technique of leveraging the experience and innovation of its companions to drive its personal developments.
The manufacturing facet of Pink Bull’s racing endeavor isn’t any much less spectacular. “We make within the area of 1 / 4 million components for yearly,” he stated. The corporate not solely produces components for its personal group but in addition for the AlphaTauri group, as they’re at present recognized. This strategy of steady optimization is central to Pink Bull’s ethos of iterative growth, facilitated by intensive knowledge assortment and suggestions. “We collect knowledge from each one of many races, producing roughly 400 gigabytes of information from each race,” Handscombe added. The gathering and evaluation of this knowledge are important in sustaining their aggressive edge, permitting them to adapt quicker than their competitors.
And by the stats, it’s working. The group gained 21 out of twenty-two races through the 2023 season, and gained 17 races of the earlier season.
What are the important thing tendencies in 3D printing to look at for 2024?
High quality is essential
High quality is essential to Pink Bull’s philosophy, in response to their consultant, and is to “manufacture as a lot as potential in-house.” This ethos underpins the development of the 250,000+ bespoke components for his or her F1 automobiles. However as he notes, this inner dedication isn’t with out its challenges in an atmosphere constrained by price range caps: “It’s actually an uphill battle. However we’re the place we’re. And we’ve got to evolve to the laws.” To satisfy these calls for with out sacrificing high quality, the corporate turned its focus to high quality assurance, transferring away from a reactive high quality management mannequin. This required integrating stringent checks into each step of the method, from idea to manufacturing. He elaborated: “We’ve to verify each step of the method passes proper, and we’re speaking all the way in which to the endpoint as properly.”
This integration introduced new applied sciences and methods into their manufacturing and testing course of. As an illustration, Oracle Pink Bull Racing has employed instruments from Hexagon’s portfolio to considerably cut back setup and run time. They’ve additionally been exploring scanning applied sciences from different Hexagon acquisitions, demonstrating a willingness to think about novel options to enhance effectivity.
Furthermore, Pink Bull’s improvements aren’t restricted to the manufacturing unit ground. Their know-how travels with the racing group as properly. “In 2011, we have been the primary F1 group to carry a scanner to the observe”, stated Handscombe. This piece of know-how was initially used as a diagnostic device however has since developed into an important a part of Pink Bull’s trackside operations.
As an indication of the instances, the corporate now depends on Hexagon’s 24/7 world technical assist to maintain its world racing operations. In a second of technological camaraderie, a consultant from Hexagon within the UK even as soon as shipped substitute components to the Oracle Pink Bull Racing group throughout a race weekend in Australia.
However Pink Bull is just not alone of their use of those superior tech instruments. The broader F1 neighborhood has additionally embraced the know-how, utilizing Hexagon’s instruments for checks and balances in making certain that every one elements adhere to the game’s stringent laws.
3D printing at Pink Bull Racing
I requested Handscombe about the usage of additive manufacturing or industrial 3D printing at Pink Bull Expertise Campus. He confirmed its use inside the Oracle Pink Bull Racing group, calling it “the fastest-growing know-how” inside Formulation One circles. The group is at present conducting a complete survey of the business panorama to find out what’s at present accessible and what stands as the perfect. “That’s to not say we don’t use it at this time,” stated Handscombe, “we use it an terrible lot.” What is about to alter is a transfer from the 3D printed scale fashions to check aerodynamics in wind tunnels to “an increasing number of” 3D printed elements on the race automobile. “I feel 3D printing will begin to change mechanical components on the automobile quickly,” he stated.
The velocity of the design cycle on this business is impressively speedy. Handscombe revealed, “After one race, we will design and truly have a component on the automobile for the following race.” The implementation of the price range cap has, nevertheless, slowed this course of and led to reductions in personnel to adjust to monetary restrictions.
Whereas the group spends a lot of its time specializing in the automobile and its enhancements, Handscombe acknowledged the important position of the driving force. “We want the perfect drivers, they usually don’t come low-cost,” he stated. “It’s not simply concerning the automobile; it’s about who drives the automobile too.” Along with the drivers, the corporate values its know-how companions who assist them cut back prices and enhance efficiency.
To underline the significance of steady enchancment, Handscombe gave a candid account of the group’s cultural transformation. When he joined in 2014, Handscombe, collectively together with his colleagues, launched a steady enchancment program that helped change the group’s tradition, specializing in sustaining a rigorous strategy of high quality checks and controls.
The foremost regulatory adjustments coming to Formulation One have been a key level of dialogue. In accordance with Handscombe, the adjustments might be fairly dramatic, notably with the restrictions being launched. He expressed private considerations that the price range cap may inhibit technological development regardless of the rising recognition of the game and the ensuing monetary inflow. “We’re allowed to spend much less, we’ve got to make robust decisions as to what we do. It’s a must to be very, very cautious… it might decelerate and stifle know-how,” he cautioned.
The Oracle Pink Bull Racing group, just like the business itself, stands on the crossroads of custom and innovation because the winds of change start to blow.
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The featured picture exhibits the Pink Bull Racing Crew posing for a photograph through the Pink Bull Racing 2023 Pitch Black Pit Cease in Milton Keynes, England. Picture by way of Magenta Stills / Pink Bull Content material.
