Further transforming traditional manufacturing processes with 3-D printing, Stratasys has announced that German-based manufacturer Bombardier Transportation will use the large-scale industrial-grade Stratasys F900 3-D printer as part of its operations in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

The manufacturer will produce end-use rail parts, as well as tools and prototypes for trains and trams. The F900 3-D printer is being installed at Bombardier Transportation’s largest manufacturing site world-wide, in Hennigsdorf, Germany.

It will be used to “accelerate and customise rail part production, reduce costly inventory for spare parts and increase production flexibility for parts and tools”.

Bombardier plans to use it to 3-D print interior and exterior train parts, such as air ducts, housings and cable holders.

The company will also 3-D print customised rail tools to “aid the production process and speed up the launch of new products”.

André Bialoscek, head of ‘vehicle physical integration’ at Bombardier Hennigsdorf, said: “The Stratasys F900 3-D printer allows us to widen our service offering in such a way that we can now 3-D print large spare parts, customised rail parts and manufacturing tools — all in-house and on demand.

"Having previously used fibreglass and sheet metal for train components, the ability to now use 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.”

Stratasys president (EMEA) Andreas Lang-feld (www.stratasys.com) said: “Bombardier Transportation’s investment in our F900 3-D printer is synonymous with the huge interest we are seeing in the mobility sector for industrial-grade 3-D printing solutions that can enhance — and in many cases replace — traditional manufacturing across a variety of interior and exterior rail applications.

"Our FDM-based additive-manufacturing technology offers rail companies and maintenance service providers advanced rail-certified materials, large build trays for bigger rail parts and — importantly — high levels of print reliability and repeatability.”