Titanium alloy selected in the list of 3D printing metal materials approved by the FIA in 2021

Currently, the FIA has newly approved two high-performance aluminum alloys that can be used for 3D printing in the 2021 season: A6061-RAM1 and A2024-RAM2. Both of these materials have high specific strength, which can save more weight for the car. At the same time, several other 3D printing metal materials were approved, including Inconel 625, cobalt-chromium alloy and other grades of titanium alloy and steel materials.

Up to now, 3D printing metal materials approved by the FIA include:

Aluminum alloy: AlSi10Mg, AlSi7Mg, Al Cl-30AL

Particle reinforced aluminum alloy: A20X, 2024-RAM2, 6061-RAM2

Aluminum-magnesium alloy: Scalmalloy

Titanium alloy: Grade 1, Grade 2, Ti6Al4V, Ti5553, Ti6242

Steel alloy: 316, 304, MS1, 15-5PH, 17-4PH, 300M, 4140

High temperature alloy: Inconel 625, Inconel 718, cobalt chromium alloy

Copper alloy without beryllium

In the 2020 season, the Alfa Romeo team "C39" is equipped with 143 3D printed parts, including 58 titanium alloys, 19 high-performance aluminum alloys, and 66 ordinary aluminum alloys. The types include chassis plug-ins, cooling circuit pipes, safety structures, Light fairing and other body parts, etc. The use of 3D printing to produce these parts reduces the weight of the car by at least 2%, which is of great significance to the performance of the F1 car.

In order to further improve the performance of the car, Alfa Romeo further increased the number of 3D printed parts used in the new racing car C41 in the 2021 season, reaching 304. Among them, the proportions of AlSi10Mg, Scalmalloy super alloy, Ti64 and stainless steel parts are 40%, 36%, 22% and 2% respectively. These parts of different materials are distributed in different positions in the car, making the total weight of the 3D printed parts on the C41. It reaches 14860g, which is slightly heavier than C39's 13140g.

Material type Number of parts (pieces)

                                                                  C39     C41

Ordinary aluminum alloy                            66     122

High-performance aluminum alloy            19      109

Titanium alloy                                             58      67

Stainless steel                                               0       6

Total                                                           143      304

Number of 3D printing materials and parts on Alfa Romeo C39 and C41

From the list of 3D printing metal materials published by the FIA, it can be seen that many materials are not currently mainstream 3D printing materials, and many are newly developed materials that have not been fully verified. Therefore, we can also see the demand for 3D printing technology and new materials in this field. As pointed out in the article, the aerospace and automotive fields have common requirements for 3D printing technology, such as the manufacture of complex parts, lightweight, and rapid production in small batches.