How UltiMaker 3D printers support the production of super racing cars

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) was founded in 2009 by brothers Neill and Ian Briggs, avid automotive enthusiasts. Two years later, BAC revolutionized the car industry with the introduction of the first single-seater supercar, the BAC Mono. The Mono was the materialization of the brothers’ vision for a road car that offers the most authentic and pure driving experience combined with the latest racing technology.

Over time, BAC has introduced significant improvements and modernized the car model. This is how the Mono R was born, a vehicle that accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds. BAC acts as an incubator of the latest innovations and breakthrough concepts through its pioneering research and development projects. The company was one of the first manufacturers to start using 3D printing. Because BAC designs and manufactures the Mono R for sports car enthusiasts and collectors, they make small batches of special parts. Therefore, CNC milling or injection molding was unnecessary at this level of production.

Instead, the BAC team turned to UltiMaker. The company’s 3D printing ecosystem has enabled the manufacturer to produce highly customized and high-quality parts quickly and inexpensively, bringing significant improvements in design iterations, cost reduction and overall production efficiency.

“In the early days when 3D printing was called rapid prototyping, we didn’t fully understand the implications for manufacturing parts,” said Ian Briggs, design director and co-founder of BAC. “But now more than 44 different parts of the car are 3D printed – engine structural parts, mirror supports, light fittings. The UltiMaker ecosystem allows us to integrate all the different aspects of our production in one place that is constantly being optimised.”

BAC engineers use UltiMaker 3D printers exclusively and currently support three UltiMaker S5 3D printers. BAC produces and tests multiple iterations of the design, incorporating customer feedback or making improvements based on functional requirements. This iterative process enables the creation of highly customizable parts that are optimized for performance, ergonomics and aesthetics. Access to UltiMaker 3D printers allows BAC to produce parts as needed, reducing the need for large inventories of finished components.

Using the UltiMaker digital factory, BAC can centralize and streamline its 3D printing operations, from managing design iterations and prepress to printing and post-processing. The Digital Factory enables the team to store their digital files, along with associated print parameters, settings and material specifications, ensuring consistency and repeatability across multiple printing instances. With remote access, they can check and control the printers on their production line, which runs on demand 24/7.

The UltiMaker Material Alliance program has given BAC the flexibility to choose from a wide range of industrial grade materials that have been specifically tested, certified and optimized for use with UltiMaker 3D printers. This variety of materials means that BAC can select the most appropriate material for each application. BAC uses only Addigy materials for all 3D printed parts on the Mono R, including polyamide and carbon fiber composite for parts that require strong structural properties, such as mirror arms that support the side mirrors and take a lot of force, and air box intake manifolds .

Each Mono R vehicle is individually tailored to customer specifications. For example, the seat is molded to the driver, the handlebar grips are molded to the driver, the color scheme of the car is chosen, and even the racing suits are made to measure. Everything is custom and 3D printing allows BAC to print many parts on the BAC Mono R. Customers can even add their initials and car numbers directly onto the car and onto the key ring.

Source: UltiMaker press materials