Additive & 3D Printing

Design for Additive Manufacture (DfAM)

Unlike conventional design, additive manufacturing rewards complexity. Topology optimisation algorithms generate organic, lattice-filled or hollow geometries that minimise material use while maximising structural performance — impossible to achieve with machining or casting.

Metal Powder Bed Fusion (DMLS / SLM)

A high-power laser selectively melts metal powder — aluminium alloys, titanium Ti-6Al-4V, stainless 316L, Inconel 625/718 — layer by layer in an inert atmosphere. The process produces fully dense, near-net-shape metal parts with mechanical properties comparable to wrought material.

Polymer & Composite Additive Processes

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and continuous fibre reinforcement processes produce plastic and composite components for non-structural applications — interior trim, ducts, brackets, jigs and fixtures — at a fraction of the tooling cost.

Rapid Prototyping & Tooling

Additive manufacture compresses development timescales from weeks to days for prototype components. Functional prototypes can be tested at design freeze rather than waiting for tooled parts, enabling more design iterations within a fixed programme timing.

Low-Volume & Bespoke Production

For low-volume vehicles, motorsport and personalisation applications, additive manufacture makes economic sense for production parts where tooling costs cannot be amortised over large volumes. Hypercar manufacturers use DMLS titanium and aluminium for structural components.

Quality Assurance & Certification

Additive components in safety-critical applications require rigorous qualification — process parameter control, in-situ monitoring, CT scanning for internal defect detection and destructive testing of witness coupons built alongside production parts.