Additive Manufacturing at the Core of Aixtreme Racing’s First Electric Race Car

For the 2025 Formula Student season, Aixtreme Racing is reaching a major milestone by developing its first-ever electric race car. This technological transition brings new challenges, particularly in terms of lightweight design, electrical safety, and development speed.

To meet these requirements, the team relies on Raise3D professional 3D printing solutions, a technology distributed and promoted by Multistation for innovative industrial, educational, and R&D projects.

Aixtreme Racing: A Student Team Driven by Innovation

Founded in 2007, Aixtreme Racing is a Formula Student team made up of around 40 passionate engineering students from the University of Applied Sciences Aachen (FH Aachen).
Each year, the team designs and builds a complete race car prototype entirely in-house.

For the 2025 season, the shift to an electric vehicle represents a significant step forward, requiring:

• new materials,
• dedicated components for high-voltage systems,
• faster and more flexible prototyping capabilities.

The Limits of Traditional Manufacturing Methods

Before integrating 3D printing into its workflow, Aixtreme Racing primarily relied on:

• composite structures,
• aluminum and steel machining.
• While effective, these methods came with several constraints:
• long lead times for prototype parts,
• high costs for single parts or small batches,
• strong dependence on workshop availability,
• significant material waste,
• limited flexibility when design iterations were required.

With the transition to an electric vehicle, new demands emerged, particularly the need for flame-retardant and electrically insulating enclosures, which are difficult to manufacture cost-effectively using conventional processes.

Technical Materials for Formula Student Requirements

Thanks to Raise3D 3D printing technology, the team can now work with advanced materials that meet both functional and regulatory requirements.

PC-FR Polymaker for High-Voltage Systems

Aixtreme Racing mainly uses Polymaker PC-FR filament for high-voltage traction system enclosures. This material offers:

• flame-retardant properties,
• full electrical insulation,
• compliance with Formula Student regulations.

UL94 V-0 Rated TPU 95A

The team is also testing a UL94 V-0 rated TPU 95A for flexible applications such as:

• vibration-damping components,
• seals,
• protective parts.
• Prototyping and Tooling
• Materials like PLA, PETG, and PC are used to produce:
• tools,
• test fixtures,
• small molds,
• functional prototypes, such as the Red Stack Enclosure.

The Raise3D Open Material Program provides validated material profiles, reducing setup time and ensuring consistent, repeatable print quality.

Why Raise3D?

To gain speed, flexibility, and autonomy, Aixtreme Racing naturally turned to additive manufacturing.

Key motivations included:

• rapid development of custom, lightweight parts,
• shorter development cycles,
• reduced material waste,
• greater independence from traditional manufacturing resources.

The choice of Raise3D was supported by prior experience at the university, where a Raise3D Pro2 was already in use by the academic staff. Based on its proven reliability and print quality, the team selected the Raise3D Pro3 for its electric vehicle project.

Measurable Benefits in Daily Use

Since adopting Raise3D solutions, Aixtreme Racing has observed:

• consistent print quality, even on complex geometries,
• smooth integration between ideaMaker and RaiseCloud,
• quick onboarding of team members with limited 3D printing experience,
• significant time and cost savings,
• greater freedom to iterate during the design phase.

Discover the New Raise3D E3 Series

Designed for education, R&D, and industrial environments, the Raise3D E3 Series makes professional 3D printing more accessible.
Reliable, secure, and easy to use, it is ideal for training, prototyping, and everyday additive manufacturing projects.

👉 Learn more about the Raise3D E3 Series

Multistation, Supporting Additive Manufacturing Innovation

As a distributor of Raise3D professional 3D printing solutions, Multistation actively supports and highlights innovative additive manufacturing projects across industry, education, and research.

Initiatives like Aixtreme Racing demonstrate how additive manufacturing enables faster innovation, rapid experimentation, and hands-on learning for the engineers of tomorrow.

We thank Aixtreme Racing and the University of Applied Sciences Aachen for sharing this inspiring case study and wish them every success for the 2025 season.

Source : site Raise3D