bugatti develops world's largest functional 3D printed titanium brake caliper

bugatti developers have succeeded in designing a brake caliper that can be produced by 3D printing. while the main material used for the additive production of vehicle components to date has been aluminum, the brake caliper is made from titanium. this is the world’s largest functional component produced from titanium using 3D printing processes.

all images © bugatti

bugatti has underlined its lighthouse function for 3D printing within the volkswagen group and its role as an innovation driver in the automotive industry. the french-automaker’s milestone was reached in collaboration with laser zentrum nord of hamburg. vehicle trials for the use of the 3D titanium brake caliper in series production are expected to start in the first half of the year.

‘vehicle development is a never-ending process. this is particularly true at bugatti’, comments frank götzke, head of new technologies in the technical development department. he continues, ‘in our continuing development efforts, we are always considering how new materials and processes can be used to make our current model even better and how future vehicles of our brand could be designed.’