Image: Porsche 3D-printing achieved a 10% weight reduction compared with the conventional cast housing while doubling stiffness in stressed areas.
Porsche announced its first 3D printed housing for an electric drive. The engine-gearbox unit produced using the additive laser fusion process passed all the quality and stress tests without any problems, said the company.
“This proves that additive manufacturing with all its advantages is also suitable for larger and highly-stressed components in electric sports cars,” said Falk Heilfort, Project Manager, Powertrain Advanced Development, at the Porsche Development Center in Weissach, Germany. “It is conceivable that the optimized electric drive could be used in a limited-edition super sports car, for example.”
How Porsche Created the World’s First 3D-Printed EV Drive Housing 21 Dec 2020, 14:21 UTC ·
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The feat was made possible by engineers at Porsche’s Advanced Development department who were experimenting with building methods that would result in lighter parts than those conventionally cast.
Taking advantage of the structural layout offered by additive laser 3D printing, they increased the stiffness in highly stressed areas, resulting in a housing that is approximately 30% lighter but perfectly capable of passing all the quality and stress tests without any issues.
Another major advantage of using this manufacturing method is that various functions and parts can be integrated, drastically reducing the assembly work and increasing the quality of the components.