Turbo Collector Project | Leading Additive Manufacturing Companies in Stainless Steel 3D Printing

As part of Metal Technology’s initiative to promote dependable innovation, we love to share our customer success stories.  One of our favorite projects has been the Turbo Collector Project, in which Metal Technology provided stainless steel 3D printing services for Extreme Turbo Systems – a company out of Vancouver, WA. that builds hand-fabricated turbo applications for high performance vehicles.

For Extreme Turbo Systems, the initial path to creating a testable prototype was quite extensive – the hand fabricated piece would have to be digitized, modeled in a CAD program, 3D printed into a plastic model, then tooling would be built, and finally the prototype would be casted for testing. By joining forces with MTI, several phases of the process have been cut out due to our stainless steel 3D printing process. Now, Extreme Turbo Systems is able to go straight from a CAD modeled piece to a testable prototype, saving time, money, and resources.

As with any new way of doing things, some elements of doubt arose when considering stainless steel 3D printing. The Extreme Turbo Systems team was skeptical as to whether or not the printed collector (printed using 17-4 PH stainless) would hold up when attached to a high performance engine and was exposed to severe thermal loading in a high vibration environment. The team was also concerned about the weldability of the printed collector. And, even if it was able to be welded, would it hold up in the long run?  More than just car parts were on the line here.

Metal Technology was able to take these concerns, address them, and successfully print a weldable, functioning stainless steel collector.

JR Perrott, Owner at Extreme Turbo Systems, had this to say about working with MTI on the Turbo Collector Project:

” MTI was great at helping us achieve our goals with their ability to be a ‘one stop shop.’ Under one roof they provided digitization, clean up in CAD, and printing of the first article using stainless steel. By having all of these processes in-house, the turnaround was much faster and there was less chance for communication breakdown… We are confident that if we need quick turnaround prototypes that can be run in real world conditions, the MTI printed metal products are up to the task.”

Check out the full interview with JR Perrott here:

The Capabilities of Stainless Steel 3D Printing

About Metal Technology (MTI)

With more than forty years of experience applying innovative, proprietary technologies, Metal Technology (MTI) is making possible the use of difficult alloys for a wider range of applications with greater efficiency, versatility, and reliability. Alloys include Tantalum, Niobium, Zirconium, Titanium, Tungsten and Molybdenum. MTI uses specialized deep-draw, spinning, forging, machining, EDM, and additive manufacturing methods to deliver superior products according to your exacting specifications.

Contact us for more information on our additive manufacturing initiatives.