HRE Wheels is known for its build-to-order aluminum alloy wheels for racing, performance, and luxury cars. However, it has now teamed up with GE Additive AddWorks, the materials consulting team within the company.
Together, the two teams have developed a 3D printed titanium prototype wheel with a carbon fiber rim called the HRE3D+.
The reason for choosing titanium is that it’s “sort of the Holy Grail”. It is resistant to corrosion, has a high melting point and is strong yet light. As a result, the wheel weighs a lot less than a traditionally made wheel.
Despite its benefits, titanium is not usually used in the automotive industry as magnesium and aluminum alloys are cheaper. Titanium is also difficult to weld and machine compared to alloys due to its melting point.
However, it’s possible to create a complex, titanium print when using 3D printing. The team designed five complex pieces which were each be printed whole and assembled.
“We’re not just redefining how wheels are manufactured, we’re exploring design ideas that were simply infeasible or even unimaginable with current technology. Currently, the way HRE makes a wheel is we take a 100-pound forging and we’re going to machine that down to about 20 pounds and so it’s… an expensive process,” said Alan Peltier, HRE performance wheels president in the YouTube video showcasing the wheel. So far, it’s amassed over 70,000 views in three days. Check it out:
3D Printing the Titanium HRE3D+ Wheel
To 3D print the wheel prototype, GE’s Electron Beam Melting machines were used. They work by using electron beams to melt titanium powder layer by layer.
Peltier adds: “The reason HRE wanted to work with GE wasn’t just because we knew they made great additive machines. With their expertise on the material science side, they understood the titanium powder really well, they understand the process that’s needed to take that powder into an actual part.”
Current wheels made by HRE are time-consuming to produce. Peltier explains that 3D printing can produce a complex shape in a shorter amount of time compared to traditionally machined titanium parts.
The company also chose to work with GE as they want to be at the forefront of cutting edge technology and innovation, using 3D printing processes which are used for aerospace.
Even though this wheel would be super flash to have on your car, the project wasn’t about producing something for market. Instead, it remains as a concept wheel which shows off the possibilities of additive manufacturing.
Learn more about HRE over on the company’s website.
Source: Road and Track
License: The text of "HRE Wheels and GE Additive Develop 3D Printed Titanium Concept Wheel" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.