Case Study: Technische Universität Dresden achieves 35% weight reduction and 5× stiffness increase on Formula Student steering column with Altair's solidThinking Inspire

Technische Universität Dresden - Customer Case Study

Technische Universität Dresden’s Elbflorace Electric Formula Student Team needed to redesign a complex steering column mount that had been produced as four bolted milled-aluminum pieces and was difficult to machine. To explore additive manufacturing (electron beam melting) and speed up design, researchers Michael Süß and student Lucas Hofman used Altair’s solidThinking Inspire to optimize and prepare the part for production.

Using Altair’s solidThinking Inspire for topology optimization and PolyNURBS refinement, the team worked with Fraunhofer IFAM to print the new titanium mount on an Arcam A2X electron beam melting machine. The result: the assembly went from four parts to one, weight dropped 35% (500 g to 330 g), stiffness increased fivefold, design time fell by 50%, and material waste was reduced by 90% (build time ~29 hours). Altair’s tool enabled a rapid workflow from optimization to manufacturable geometry and will be used by the team going forward.

Technische Universität Dresden

Michael Sub

Research Fellow