The SNCF, in collaboration with the École Centrale de Nantes and two 3D printing specialists, VLM Robotics and 4D Pioneers, announced on April 5 the creation of the Additive4Rail consortium. Its objective is to optimize train maintenance time and costs using new printing technologies.
3D printing opens new perspectives for the SNCF
The French National Railway Company had already invested in additive manufacturing last year with 3YOURMIND. The software made it possible to quickly identify and evaluate spare parts that could be 3D printed. Today, out of 30,000 spare parts, 10.3% of them are printable, which made it possible to reduce the delivery time from 2.5 months to 10 days.
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With Additive4Rail, SNCF intends to significantly reduce its stock of parts in order to get as close as possible to demand. The project will make it possible to print directly, in 3D, the parts that need to be changed. A significant time saving that goes hand in hand with a reduction in storage costs. The public company currently lists 150,000 references, including many small series, necessary for train maintenance.
A production line created for the occasion
The railway company and its partners will set up a 150 square meter production line in Saintes, Charente-Maritime. Placed on one of the sites of the SNCF Charente-Périgord industrial Technicentre, the latter will be responsible for manufacturing and repairing metal and polymer parts using 3D printing.
During the month of April, a team of 3 people will be assigned to this chain in order to carry out tests on the materials and machines provided by the partners of the consortium. On the program, the experimentation of the processes by “deposition of thermoplastic filament” and by “deposition of metal wire” to manufacture parts intended to be equipped on the trains.
10.7 million euros in public funding
The project is one of the 7 winners selected during the call for expressions of interest (AMI) launched by the Orientation Committee for Railway Research and Innovation (CORIFER) on March 9, 2021. It is funded by the public authorities, including the Banque Publique d’Investissement, up to 10.7 million euros over the 4 years of partnerships: 4.8 million euros for the SNCF, 2.7 million euros for the École Centrale Nantes, 2.4 million euros for VLM Robotics and 890,000 euros for 4D Pioneers.
The Additive4Rail consortium hopes to accelerate the democratization of 3D printing for industrial use in France and in the rail sector. From 2026, he wants to produce innovative prototypes for this sector, such as the manufacture of a train bogie, the carriage located under high-speed vehicles.