A supersonic car with a 3D printed titanium nose tip and steering wheel has reportedly reached a speed of 628 mph in recent tests in South Africa.
The parts were manufactured by 3D printing company Renishaw which built the Bloodhound car's steering wheel layer-by-layer from titanium powder using a bespoke design which enabled the wheel to specifically fit the hands of the driver.
‘Reaching 628 mph in South Africa was an incredible achievement for BLOODHOUND and it was exciting to see Renishaw's technology being a part of it,’ said Chris Pockett, head of communications at Renishaw. ‘Additive manufacturing gave us the freedom to design the nose cone and steering wheel specifically to undergo the extreme forces involved in the land speed attempt, which would have been difficult with traditional manufacturing methods.’
Plans are for the Bloodhound to break the land speed record in 2020/21.
This story uses material from Renishaw, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
