Large amounts of used cars that are written off in Europe are shipped to Africa for a ‘second life’. This results in a high demand for spare parts to sustain this life.

I am Obasogie Okpamen from Landmark University, Nigeria. I am honored to be presenting my project which reduces the mass and material used in manufacturing engine parts while adding to their aesthetics and ultimately showing how additive manufacturing can change the spare parts industry.

For this project, I have chosen the Alfa Romeo 75 twin spark TS connecting rod which I believe is a perfect option, not just because the Alfa Romeo 75 is an iconic vehicle with great balance and engine performance but because even in our modern and fast changing world, automobiles are ever present and of high value. This project therefore stands as a tribute to a vehicle which pushed the performance of the automobile.

The Con-Rod initially weighed 750g but after redesign, it weighs 627.9g with a reduction of 122g.

The Connecting rod transmits motion from the piston to the crankshaft of the Alfa Romeo 75 Spark Engine.

Of all the parts of the engine, the connecting rod is chosen because it is a functional part of the intricate automobile engine system.
I believe everyday machine parts get to show the power of additive manufacturing through improvements like mass reduction.

The design maintains the H-Beam structure while boasting a more aesthetic form. Improvement could be made generally in how machine parts are produced, the best about this is that little replacement parts could be printed on the go in repair shops/garages.

The modelling and topology optimization was made possible with the Autodesk Fusion360 software. This made it possible to make the sketch, simulation, shape optimization and model.

My motivation towards this challenge is that addictive manufacturing can give the greatest improvements even to small mechanical parts that we often ignore.  I believe with this project I get to showcase the quick, accurate and efficient use of materials in designing for everyday use.

Thank you to the techbriefs and partners for making this possible. I hope my project adds to the list of successful advances in additive manufacturing today.

Thank you.