Formero has been a partner of Monash Motorsport for many years, and are renowned for their high quality 3D printing services. Our aerodynamic wing profiles require end caps for assembly of the carbon fiber skins and to transfer loading to the mounting structure. They have to be lightweight, yet stiff enough to pass deflection rules. As such, end caps are highly important components of our car that enable our aerodynamic package to be suitably attached to the vehicle. Particularly for smaller wing elements, like the front wing flaps, end caps can be difficult to manufacture reliably by hand. Therefore, our team has partnered with Formero to manufacture these very small, yet critical parts for our car.

*Rear Wing Flap End Caps - Made by Formero using Onyx™*

Monash Motorsport has worked with Formero to create our end caps through a 3D Printing process called Fused Filament Fabrication, more commonly known as FDM. It is a process in which filament is extruded through a moving, heated nozzle, constructing the project layer by layer, and it is known for its uses as an economical and multifaceted method of 3D printing. The material we chose was Onyx™ – the flagship base material from MarkForged – a high-performance micro carbon fibre filled nylon, which has a 40 MPa tensile stress at yield and 37 MPa at break, which forms the ideal properties for our use case.

Previously, we have utilised Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), where the project is created using a laser to sinter powder particles, and binding the layers together. However, we ultimately chose to use Onyx™ this year due to its high performance and versatility.

*M24 driving at the Red Bull Ring during Formula Student Austria*

Formero has been consistently reliable and timely for all projects we have collaborated on, such as cooling jackets for the motors. The team knew that for our European Campaign, we would be on a tight timeline – all these parts had to be ordered, manufactured, delivered and tested before our shipping container departed from Melbourne in April, across the world to Germany. We had two aerodynamic packages to allow for sufficient spares should they be required, totalling to a large quantity of end caps required. Within a few weeks, we had received our end caps in pristine quality, on time and meeting our strict requirements.

*Cascade Flap End Caps - Made by Formero using Onyx™*

James Hazon, our Aerodynamics Principal Engineer, who was involved in the design and completion of these parts, has shared: “With manufacturing two aero packages before shipping M24 came increased time constraints. Formero was able to accommodate for this providing a very fast turnaround, even for the large quantity of parts asked of them. All were delivered to high quality allowing us to form our aerofoils as accurately as possible. I would like to thank Formero on behalf of Monash Motorsport and all the projects we have brought to them over the years.

The end caps we received from Formero were outstanding in all respects – quality, timing, precision and service. We would like to thank Formero for their continued support, which has allowed M24 to travel and compete in Europe successfully.

Small Yet Critical: 3D Printed End Caps by Formero

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