Williams Racing has announced a new partnership with Nexa3D, thereby bringing fast polymer 3-D printing to the world of Formula One (F1), with Nexa3D’s NXE400 ultrafast photoplastic 3-D printer being available to manufacture functional wind tunnel parts for aerodynamic testing.

Moreover, the company’s NexaX software will enable high-performance additive manufacturing (AM) processes using modern computation architecture to develop ‘light-weighted parts and accelerate the file-to-part process’.

Nexa3D says that with its technology, Williams Racing will be able to “quickly design and manufacture complex, light-weighted parts in minutes, compared to hours with traditional manufacturing, while minimising material usage and waste. The NXE400 breaks printing speed barriers with ‘20x productivity’ via its proprietary Lubricant Sublayer
Photo-curing (LSPc) technology and patented structured light matrix.”

Al Peasland, head of technical and innovation partnerships at Williams Racing, said: “We are extremely excited to announce our partnership with Nexa3D and look forward to enhancing our additive manufacturing capabilities with their innovative high-speed printing technologies.

F1 is a challenging environment that demands a continuous-improvement philosophy in order to remain competitive. Our partnership will enable the team to continue to push boundaries in 3-D printing — and present new opportunities for Nexa3D to further advance their revolutionary technology.”

Avi Reichental, Nexa3D’s co-founder, chairman and CEO, said: “Our partnership with Williams Racing represents the fusion of top-tier engineering and race-car performance. With its ultrafast production cycles, the NXE400 represents the Formula One of additive manufacturing at scale. Few companies appreciate speed like Williams Racing and they represent the perfect partner for our polymer 3-D printing technology.”