AM Center Supports Automotive Supplier's Greener Engine Plan

Mahle GmbH, an automotive supplier, is best known in the additive world for a project it undertook in 2020 with Porsche and Trumpf to produce pistons from an aluminum alloy with laser metal fusion for the Porsche 911 GT2 RS high-performance sports car.

The supplier developed this piston using a generative design process, leading to a piston design as much as 20% lighter than one made via casting, the conventional approach — all while using the same proprietary aluminum alloy.

Porsche fitted six of the pistons into the engine of the 911 GT2 TS race car and ran it for 200 hours, of which 135 were at full load.

Evidently, the test results were satisfactory, as Porsche’s project manager Frank Ickinger says “in terms of technology, this is the start of a new chapter for us, which opens up completely new possibilities in design and production.”

For its part, Mahle found the printing to be so beneficial that it has opened an additive manufacturing center at its headquarters in Stuttgart. What is interesting about this development is that Mahle is emphasizing the benefits that additive will provide in relation to environmentally oriented engines, not those for super sports cars.

Michael Frick, chairman of the Mahle management board and CFO, says “the development of new systems and components has to be much faster today than it was a few years ago, especially when it comes to solutions for sustainable CO₂-neutral drive systems.

“With our new 3D printing center, Mahle is once again stepping up the pace in its strategic field — for example, e-mobility."

New Facility Details

Mahle’s additive facility has a footprint of approximately 500 square meters. At present there is a single machine, an SLM Solutions 280, which has a work envelope measuring 280 × 280 × 365 mm. The company is working with V2A and V4A steels, as well as aluminum alloys.

Presently there are five people working in the facility, although a Mahle spokesperson says they are supplemented by “an extended team of experts from various departments, in particular simulation and materials experts. Depending on the respective project, extended project teams are added.”

Future Series Production

The success of the pistons for Porsche notwithstanding, the work Mahle is performing is not focused on the company’s engine systems and components operations, but thermal management, mechatronics and electronics.

Dr. Martin Berger, head of corporate research and advanced engineering at Mahle, says that “processes are also being developed in the new center that enable 3D printing in industrial series production based on the strict standards of the automotive industry. This opens up completely new possibilities in product development and manufacturing, because these processes can be used to produce high-performance components that cannot be manufactured using conventional methods.”