Bugatti Develops World’s Largest Titanium Brake Caliper. – New eight-piston monobloc brake caliper is the world’s first brake caliper to be produced by 3-D printer
– Also largest brake caliper in the automotive industry as a whole
– Bugatti is the first series manufacturer to use titanium, a material calling for extremely complex and challenging processing
– Worldwide innovation is the result of cooperation between the Bugatti Development Department and Laser Zentrum Nord in Hamburg
– French super sports car brand reaches new milestone in development of 3-D printing as a future-oriented technology
– As the technical development laboratory of the Volkswagen Group, Bugatti leads the way in 3-D printing and is a worldwide innovation driver
– 3-D printed components to be trialled for series production this year
– Experience gained to be used in research and development projects of the Volkswagen Group and its brands
With its Veyron and Chiron super sports cars, Bugatti has established a position as a pioneer for new technical developments and innovations in the extreme performance sector of the automotive industry over the past few decades and has set breathtaking performance data and records. Now the Development Department of the French luxury brand has achieved a new coup. For the first time, the Bugatti developers have succeeded in designing a brake caliper that can be produced by 3-D printing. But that is by no means all. While the main material used for the additive production of vehicle components to date has been aluminium, the new brake caliper is made from titanium. This is therefore the world’s largest functional component produced from titanium using 3-D printing processes. This new milestone in the development of 3-D printing was reached in cooperation with Laser Zentrum Nord of Hamburg, an institute that has formed part of the Fraunhofer research organization since the beginning of the year. With this world debut, Bugatti has underlined its lighthouse function for 3-D printing within the Volkswagen Group and its role as an innovation driver in the international automotive industry. Vehicle trials for the use of the 3-D titanium brake caliper in series production are to start in the first half of the year.
http://youtu.be/iCYE1V7Bgcw
