3D Printed Precision: Formero’s Contribution to Race Car Cooling System

In 2023 Formero was proud to sponsor Monash Motorsport (MMS), a student-run race team. The team is comprised of Monash University students from a range of faculties, including engineering, commerce, science, design and law; that work collaboratively in technical, business and management aspects. The culmination of this is the team’s consistent success in FSAE Australasia and in European Formula Student competitions.

The following post was written by the students at Monash Motorsport as part of our ongoing relationship. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 2023 MMS Team on their successes and look forward to working with them in 2024.

3D Printed Precision: Formero’s Contribution to Race Car Cooling System

The overheating of our vehicle’s motors and inverters can cause permanent damage to the critical components within our powertrain. To effectively cool M23’s Fischer motors, we use custom cooling jackets designed in-house by our engineers. Motor power delivery and feedback are also critical to the reliable functionality of our motors, and to ensure these aren’t interrupted, we utilise custom motor shrouds to strain relieve these critical connections between components in the powertrain.

The performance of these jackets is optimised with simulation via Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)and on-track data validation being used to inform design iterations. An effective cooling jacket is a key part of a high performing tractive system for an FSAE car. The general function of the cooling jacket is to extract the heat from the aluminium housing of the motor by circulating water from the cooling system around the housing. This cooling ensures that the motor’s coils and magnets can stay within their safe operating temperatures. The cooling jacket is installed by
sliding it over the outer diameter of our cylindrical Fischer motors whilst sealing with radial o-rings at either axial end of the jacket. Water runs in and out of the cooling jacket through hoses  attached to integrated barbs on the cooling jacket.

Our motor shrouds attach directly to the cooling jackets, and serve as a high voltage enclosure, protecting the interior electrical connections from mechanical strain and from rain. Strain relief is done via cable glands on the exterior of the shroud, which clamp onto the cables to prevent any cable movement outside the shroud (e.g. from steering) from damaging interior wiring. A radial o-ring is placed inside a groove on the shroud, which when pressed onto a surface on the cooling jacket, waterproofs the interior.

Both the cooling jackets and motor shroud of these components are manufactured with the assistance of our Platinum sponsor Formero. Formero is a leading provider of advanced manufacturing services in the Australian region and has been partnering with Monash Motorsport for almost a decade. Our partnership gives us the opportunity to use Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printing to print these components.

SLS printing uses a laser to solidify layers of powder layer by layer. This type of additive manufacturing eliminates the need for support in the print, unlike the standard FDM printing, making it possible to print complex internal geometries such as those found in our cooling jackets. The material used for our motor shrouds and cooling jackets is nylon PA-12. PA-12 has high strength, which is important for the clamping of coolant hose onto the cooling jacket’s printed barbs, and for the waterproofing of the components using o-rings, which can require relatively large amounts of force to install. PA-12 is also suitable for the high temperatures that the surface of the motors can reach. Formero also offers sealing of the print with z-bond, so that water can’t seep through the initially porous part.

By manufacturing essential parts for the team’s accumulator, motors and more, Formero is an invaluable partner of Monash Motorsport.

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