The Stratasys Neo450s at Mackart Additives facility maximizes their in-house AM
solutions capabilities and product development solutions

Silverstone
Composites andMackart Additive
Drive Innovation toCreate UniqueSolutions UsingStratasys
Stereolithography
Technology
Executive Summary:Case Study

UK-based Silverstone Composites Ltd, provides
bespoke composite manufacturing solutions toa variety of trade sectors including aerospace,automotive, marine, medical mobility, military andtrack bikes industries. To keep up with customer
demand within motorsport and Formula One, theteam needed to develop a method to producecomposite pipes – for which an internal mandrel
tool is essential. As such, fellow Silverstone
Technology Cluster member, Mackart Additive, wasapproached and challenged to create a uniqueresolution to match this requirement. Using its
Stratasys Neo450s 3D printer and the Somos®
DMX SL-100 stereolithography material, Mackart
Additive utilized its experience and industry
expertise to develop an additive manufacturingmethod of part production for the internal mandrel– the only solution available of its kind in the UKfrom a supply point of view.

Stratasys Stereolithography(SL) has enabled us to find aniche in our market, helping
us to evolve as we offer aunique method of additive
manufactured mandrel tooling.
Our customer came to us witha problem and there was noalternative solution.”
Marcus Trofimov

Founder and Managing Director,
Silverstone Composites Ltd.

Elements of the internal mandrels
such as the composite material being
easily wrapped around the mandrel
and then extracted just isn’t possibleusing traditional tooling methods

2 2
Challenges:•No alternative solution for mandrel toolingfor a composite pipe had been previously
implemented•

Production of mandrel tooling using traditional
methods such as aluminum was not viable as
it could not be extracted from the composite
pipe•

Previous to using SL technology, each mandrel
tool could take up to one-hour of postprocessing per tool and human-error can often
happen as a result

Values:•Having switched from other SL 3D printing
methods, the surface finish of the mandrels
produced using the Neo450s greatly reduces
the post-processing time and almost
completely minimizes the need for manuallabor and handling of the parts – saving up toone-hour per tool•

Use of Somos® DMX SL-100
stereolithography material meets the internal
mandrels’ strict requirements in terms of theamount of pressure and temperature they canmanage•

The internal mandrels produced on theNeo450s are easily extracted from thecomposite pipe, not previously possible using
traditional manufacturing methods

Located in the heartland of British motor racing
and Formula One, Silverstone Composites Ltd, isa solutions provider with industry expertise in thedesign and manufacture of carbon fiber, covering
the whole manufacturing process from design
to the production of composite components
and parts. In keeping with its surroundings, thecompany primarily operates in the motorsport
sector.
Silverstone Composites Ltd is a member of
The Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC), anorganization aimed at pooling the knowledge ofadvanced engineering, electronics and software
businesses in the wider geographical areasurrounding Silverstone. It is within the STC that apartnership began with fellow members Mackart
Additive; a mechanical engineering business withexpertise in Deigning for Additive Manufacture(DfAM), maximizing their in-house additive
manufacturing (AM) capability, providing productdevelopment and production solutions.
The partnership has grown over the course of three
years and benefits from a shared technological andindustry expertise. As the collaboration developed,
both companies researched and implemented
new methods of exponentially increasing theservice offering they could provide customers – a
key driver in Mackart’s purchase of the Stratasys
Neo450s 3D printer in October 2021.

Document
Case
StudyTitle Here

Using Neo solutions, the team at
Mackart has the ability to efficiently
produce accurate, high quality
industrial-grade parts with robust
repeatability3 3Document
Case
StudyTitle HereThe surface finish of the mandrels produced
using the Neo450s greatly reduces thepost-processing time and almost completely
minimizes the need for manual-labor andhandling of the parts

According to Steven McCarthy, Founding Director
and Principal Technical Engineer, Mackart Additive,
it is specific customer demands that led to theinvestment in the Neo450s 3D printer: “We have
had significant experience with a number of AM
technologies since our inception as a company.
As customers started to demand bigger parts withmore complex geometries, we had to expand ouroffering, so in collaboration with the Silverstone
Composites team last year we identified Stratasys’
Neo solutions as the next step in our growth. The
ability to efficiently produce accurate, high quality
industrial-grade parts with robust repeatability
directly answers the increasingly exacting demandsof our customers and helps our business and thatof Silverstone Composites evolve and develop newand exciting solutions.”

As an open resin system, the Neo range of 3D
printers provide materials with a wide array ofproperties to suit customers’ specific application
requirements - be it chemical resistance, heat
tolerance, flexibility, durability, and optical clarity– particularly useful in high intensity sectors suchas motorsport. They feature dynamic laser beamtechnology that enables improved build accuracy,increased feature detail, and low variability acrossthe full extent of a large build platform. The
Neo450s can produce complex industrial grade
quality prototypes, tooling or master patterns andbuild parts with accurate detail and outstanding
sidewall quality.

4 4Creating a unique and repeatable solution
With a wide range of customers in different
industries, Silverstone Composites must adapt tothe often-meticulous demands that are required,specifically in Formula One. The team has toconstantly find ways of evolving and differentiating
itself from its competitors and even the Formula
One teams, many of whom have AM facilities
in-house.
In this regard, the team is often commissioned
to fulfill projects in collaboration with Mackart
Additive that are needed quickly, making traditional
production and manufacturing methods a lessviable option or maybe not an option at all.
According to Marcus Trofimov, Founder, Silverstone
Composites Ltd., this is typified in one such project
the team undertook for a Formula One customer.
“In this instance, the customer urgently needed
an internal mandrel tool to create a composite
pipe and had no alternative solutions to hand.
This provided both our companies the perfectopportunity to implement our knowledge andexpertise into a use-case and corner a new area ofthe market,” he explains.
“The composite pipes used on vital components
of cars such as break ducts or engines require a
specific type of manufacturing method that retains
good internal surface in order for the tool to beextracted from the pipe,” he adds. “Any mandrel
tool produced using traditional methods wouldDocument
Case
StudyTitle HereThe internal mandrels produced on the Neo450s are easily
extracted from the composite pipe, not previously possibleusing traditional manufacturing methods

require a lot of post processing after the print andthen once the part has been produced the extractionof the material needs to be dissolved in a solution.
This can take days if not weeks to dissolve and istherefore unviable.”
To further complicate the issue, each individual
mandrel could take up to one-hour of manual postprocessing time, inviting human-error and increased
manual labor into the equation - particularly
strenuous as around 15 kg’s worth of resin is used toproduce the mandrels each week.
In contrast, the one-build platform capability of
Mackart Additive’s in-house Neo450s streamlines
the whole process as the part is almost ready to
be sent-off to Silverstone Composites as soon as itleaves the 3D printer. As a result, the Formula One
customer and other customers can request the parts
on-demand.
Trofimov, continues, “We have to constantly adapt
to our customers’ needs and come up with uniquesolutions to thrive as a business. The internal
mandrels are a perfect example of that. Elements
such as the composite material being easily wrappedaround the mandrel and then extracted just isn’t
possible using traditional tooling methods. The
surface finish is so good that post-processing timeis greatly reduced and there is no need for manuallabor, other than lifting the mandrel out of the build
tray and transporting it.”5 5

Use of Somos® DMX SL-100 stereolithography material
meets the internal mandrels’ strict requirements in termsof the amount of pressure and temperature they can manage

The right material at the right time
After taking on the project, the team at Mackart
Additive made direct comparisons with othermaterials used previously on their other in-house
3D printers and identified the Somos® DMX-SL
100. It is a durable and tough stereolithographymaterial that enables the production of complex,
hollow composite parts in days thanks to a uniqueand cost-effective ‘dry removal’ process - and allwith no compromise on quality and aesthetics.

Document
Case
StudyTitle HereThe ‘dry removal’ process enables the mandrels tobe removed from complex, convoluted geometries
after the autoclave without the need for submersion
in caustic (which can affect the composite part).
Somos® DMX-SL 100 produces very accurateparts with a superb surface finish and outstanding
feature detail that can withstand the extreme
temperatures of the autoclave process utilized incomposites manufacturing, maintaining its flexuralstrength, elongation and tear resistance.
Trofimov continues, “The composite parts
produced using DMX-SL 100 have the best overall
tolerance to temperature and pressure that I
have seen for the mandrel application, which hasstrict requirements in both cases. The mandrel
also needs to be sealable and releasable so it

can be extracted from the composite part. We
approached Mackart Additve with these material
challenges and were blown away with the results.”
Continuing to evolve and meet demand
Both companies have stated they will look topush the boundaries of the technology further ascustomers demand continues to increase, which
is a certainty as the demand is reportedly alreadythere.
McCarthy states, “The journey we have beenon so far has been incredible and this is just thestart of our lifecycle using the Neo solutions.
It is natural for us to be thinking about further
investment as we create new opportunities
for both our companies. Having the 3D printerin-house and the help and support of Stratasys
increases our chances of evolving even further asa business.”
This sentiment is echoed by Trofimov, as heconcludes, “The aim is to explore in collaboration
with Mackart Additive new tooling applications aswell as potentially end-use parts. Our customers
have seen the benefits of the technology and thedemand is increasing.”

6Mackart Additive utilized its experienceand industry expertise to develop an
additive manufacturing method of partproduction for the internal mandrel – theonly solution available of its kind in theUK from a supply point of view

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Case Study

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