Porsche has unveiled its first-ever electric drive housing created entirely using 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology.

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According to the German carmaker, 3D printing and its latest additive laser fusion process are opening new possibilities in creating high-stress components for low-volume series production. “This proves that additive manufacturing with all its advantages is also suitable for larger and highly-stressed components in electric sports cars,” says Falk Heilfort, Project Manager in the Powertrain Advance Development department at Porsche Development Centre in Weissach. Porsche’s 3D-printed drive housing is 10-percent lighter than a similar part created using traditional casting techniques. It benefits from unique lattice structuring in high-stress areas that only became possible due to 3D printing, added Porsche, so this new component is also 100-percent stiffer than before. “Our goal was to develop an electric drive with the potential for additive manufacturing, at the same time integrating as many functions and parts as possible in the drive housing, saving weight and optimizing the structure,” added Heilfort. This particular electric drive unit is for the front axle of an electric sports car. Is Porsche talking about an extreme version of the Taycan ? Hard to say, but Porsche said it could find […]

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