Formula 1 approves Elementum 3D materials for the 2021 season

As the dust settles from two years of negotiations between officials and teams, the 2021 technical regulations have been unanimously approved. Included in the radical rule changes are two of Elementum 3D’s high-performance aluminum materials – A6061-RAM2 and A2024-RAM2. Both materials are available for use with additive

manufacturing (AM) processes and offer performance to their counterpart wrought alloys. Traditional high-strength aluminum alloys are known to suffer from hot tearing during solidification in fusion based welding and printing processes resulting in very poor mechanical properties. Elementum 3D’s alloys solve this issue by using their patented reactive additive manufacturing (RAM) technology to synthesize nano-scale inoculants during the printing process resulting in a fine equiaxed grain structure with excellent properties. Both materials have proven performance and favorable production economics with high print speeds and excellent surface finish.

The driving forces behind many of the F1 rule changes are competitive balance and economical sustainability including by controlling costs with a first-time-ever budget cap. The financial squeeze will push F1 teams to rely more on efficient solutions such as additive manufacturing to control the ballooning costs of innovation. Elementum 3D’s family of printable high-performance aluminum alloys are the perfect solution to give F1 teams the extra degree of freedom to innovate and satiate their thirst for checkered flag finishes.