Case Study: Röchling Automotive achieves 35% engine weight reduction with Materialise

Röchling Automotive Is Shifting Gears to Make an Engine 35% Lighter

Röchling Automotive was tasked by an OEM to reduce an engine’s weight by 35%. To meet this challenge they partnered with Materialise (via ACTech) to optimize and redesign a core engine component, using casting for an aluminum inlet core and additive manufacturing (stereolithography) assisted by Materialise’s custom software.

Materialise/ACTech produced the aluminum core with 3D‑printed sand molds and helped replace the heavy metal inlet casing with a 20‑piece interlocking plastic shell printed in Tusk XC2700T, enabling fast digital iteration. The solution delivered a significantly lighter part that moves Röchling toward the OEM’s 35% weight‑reduction target, shortened development time, and produced a functional prototype that met expectations.

Röchling Automotive

Fabrizio Barillari

Head of Product Line for Engines and Propulsion Solutions