Stratasys Ltd., a leader in polymer 3D printing solutions, has partnered with Radford, a global luxury automotive brand, to create over 500 3D-printed parts for the launch of the Lotus Type 62-2 coachbuilt as shown in the Discovery+ documentary, Radford Returns.
Radford Returns, now available for streaming on Discovery+, tells the story of the revival of the art of coachbuilding using technology for the 21st century. The show features car builder and host Ant Anstead and former Formula One champion racecar driver Jenson Button and documents the build of the retro-modern Lotus Type 62-2 supercar. It’s a perfect set-up for cutting edge uses of 3D printing. Viewers get an inside look at the process from designing to prototyping, tooling, and finally producing production parts utilizing Stratasys FDM®, PolyJet™, and stereolithography 3D printing technologies.
“Stratasys’ 3D printing technology gave us the design freedom and ability to easily create customized, one-off pieces and parts for these two prototype vehicles. It gave us the ability to fully embrace customized coachbuilding but with updated processes using 21st century technologies,” said host Ant Anstead.
To produce the first two cars, over 500 parts were 3D-printed at the Radford Studio, automotive design and engineering firm Aria Group, and Stratasys Direct Manufacturing. Using Stratasys’ GrabCAD Shop™ workflow software, the Radford team scheduled and tracked their 3D prints across five global locations, using a fleet of up to 20 different Stratasys 3D printers at one time – a true demonstration of distributed manufacturing. The array of Stratasys printers included the F900®, F770™, Fortus 450mc™, F370® and J55™ 3D printers, each used to achieve different desired outcomes for each part.
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17 February 2022
