Roush Invests in New Additive Manufacturing Equipment

• Product development supplier buys world’s largest powderbed additive system to expand reach in multiple industries

LIVONIA, MICH. (January 18, 2017) — Today Roush is the first service supplier in North America with the largest metal additive manufacturing system of its kind. Additive manufacturing is a process that creates a physical object from a digital design.

Roush has purchased the Xline 2000R, the largest powderbed metal additive system in the world. Acquired by GE Additive in 2016, the Xline 2000R from Concept Laser has a build envelope of 800 x 400 x 500 mm for large-scale production, such as engine blocks. The machine includes a rotating platform that allows two build modules to be used reciprocally.

The company has expanded its additive manufacturing capabilities with equipment to benefit multiple industries, including aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, entertainment, medical and consumer products.

“During the past year, Roush has invested millions of dollars in new additive manufacturing equipment to expand our reach into more industries,” said Dean Massab, executive vice president of business development for Roush Enterprises. “Investing in the latest additive manufacturing technology continues our commitment to innovative, high-performance solutions — from concept maturation and optimization, all the way through to hardware integration and development.”

Roush has been providing additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping services, commonly known as 3D printing, for more than 15 years. Roush’s latest investment adds new fused deposition modeling with large-frame machines from Stratasys; direct metal laser melting equipment from EOS; and capabilities in design for additive and topology optimization to its existing stereolithography, selective laser sintering and rapid prototyping services.

The company’s services that support additive manufacturing capabilities include 3D scanning; metallurgical testing and inspection; machining, fabrication and assembly; and full-spectrum design engineering. Increasing these additive manufacturing capabilities and topology optimization technologies complement other Roush offerings, such as performance testing, product design and advanced engineering.

“Roush is a single-source product development supplier for customers,” said Brandy Badami, business development manager, additive manufacturing for Roush. “Our unique advantage in the additive manufacturing industry allows Roush to provide seamlessly integrated services like no one else can.”

Roush’s new 3D printing capabilities also include working with advanced materials, such as production-grade thermoplastics and carbon fiber-filled nylon material. Aerospace industry customers will benefit from Ultem materials (used in production aircraft components) with their high heat and chemical resistance, and certifications in flame, smoke and toxicity. The automotive industry will benefit from actual production material (ABS, PC, PPSF, etc.) for prototype and production parts without the need for tooling. And military and racing industry customers will benefit from the lightweight, mechanical properties of the carbon-fiber-filled nylon material for high performance components.

Also with these advanced materials, Roush can 3D print sacrificial tooling for composite components and parts. This allows for composite parts to have exotic geometries that cannot be manufactured by traditional means.

Roush is International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliant and Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) registered for tanks and military vehicles, aircraft and associated equipment, military training equipment, auxiliary military equipment, spacecraft systems and associated equipment.

“Our clients are achieving market dominance faster and with better performance with these expanded opportunities in additive manufacturing combined with Roush’s leading expertise in innovative design, engineering and development services,” said Badami.

About Roush
Roush, a full-service product development supplier headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, has over 4,000 employees in facilities located throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Widely recognized for providing engineering, testing, prototype and manufacturing services to the mobility industry, Roush also provides significant support to the aerospace, defense and theme park industries. Roush is a subsidiary of Roush Enterprises, Inc., which is also the parent company of Roush Fenway Racing; Roush Performance, developer and manufacturer of performance vehicles and products for the automotive aftermarket; and Roush CleanTech, developer and manufacturer of alternative fuel systems for the fleet vehicle market. For more information, please visit www.roush.com.

Source: Roush