What if a brake caliper, suspension upright and hydraulic brake-fluid passages didn’t have to be separate components?
Czinger Vehicles is showing what that could look like with BrakeNode, a radically integrated additively manufactured braking structure debuting on the new Czinger 21C Spyder.
Instead of manufacturing several components separately and then bolting and connecting them together, BrakeNode combines multiple functions into one topology-optimized 3D-printed metal structure.
It’s an impressive example of additive manufacturing doing more than simply replacing a traditionally manufactured component.
It’s allowing engineers to rethink what the component should be in the first place.
Three Functions Become One Structure
A conventional braking and suspension assembly contains multiple separate components, interfaces, fasteners and external hydraulic lines.
BrakeNode takes a different approach.
The additively manufactured structure integrates:
Brake caliper
Suspension upright
Internal hydraulic-fluid passages
into a single component.
Internal channels allow brake fluid to travel directly through the printed structure, eliminating conventional exposed hydraulic lines in that portion of the assembly.
Designed by Optimization, Made Possible by 3D Printing
BrakeNode doesn’t look like a traditionally machined automotive component.
Its organic, skeletal geometry is the result of topology optimization — engineering software determines where material is actually required to carry loads and where it can be removed.
That produces shapes that can be extremely difficult, inefficient or sometimes impossible to manufacture using conventional machining.
Metal additive manufacturing changes those limitations.
Instead of asking engineers to design around the manufacturing process, the manufacturing process can increasingly follow the optimized design.
Less Weight, More Stiffness
Removing weight from a high-performance vehicle is always valuable.
But reducing unsprung mass — weight associated with components such as wheels, brakes and suspension — can be particularly important because those components move with the wheel.
Czinger says BrakeNode achieves up to a 30% improvement in unsprung-mass reduction and stiffness compared with a conventional brake structure.
On the 21C, the system reportedly removes approximately six pounds of unsprung mass, or roughly 1.5 pounds per corner.
Up to 15% Shorter Stopping Distance
The benefits aren’t limited to weight.
Czinger says the increased stiffness provided by BrakeNode contributes to improved braking performance and can reduce stopping distance by as much as 15% compared with a conventional brake structure.
That’s an important distinction.
Additive manufacturing isn’t being used simply because the component looks futuristic.
The geometry is intended to deliver measurable performance improvements.
Hollow Structures Carry the Load
One of BrakeNode’s most interesting engineering features is the use of hollow load-bearing structures.
Approximately 37% of the part’s material is contained within hollow load-bearing sections.
This allows the component to maintain structural performance while reducing unnecessary material.
And those internal spaces aren’t necessarily wasted.
Some can perform another function by carrying hydraulic fluid.
That’s one of additive manufacturing’s greatest advantages:
The inside of a component can become part of the engineering design.
Easier Maintenance
Highly integrated components might sound more difficult to service, but Czinger designed BrakeNode with maintenance in mind.
Brake pads can be accessed through the upper portion of the assembly, while the brake rotors can be removed without completely disconnecting a conventional standalone caliper arrangement.
That shows an important evolution in generative and additive design.
Optimization doesn’t have to mean ignoring the mechanic who eventually needs to work on the vehicle.
The 21C Spyder
BrakeNode debuts on Czinger’s new 21C Spyder, an open-top version of its highly unconventional American hypercar.
The vehicle produces approximately 1,250 horsepower from a hybrid powertrain centered around a twin-turbo V8.
But beneath the dramatic performance numbers is something arguably more important for manufacturing.
Czinger is using the vehicle as a demonstration of what happens when additive manufacturing becomes part of the original engineering process rather than simply a method for making replacement components.
From Part Replacement to Part Consolidation
The automotive industry’s first phase of 3D printing largely focused on prototypes, tooling and low-volume components.
BrakeNode represents a very different philosophy.
Instead of:
PART A + PART B + PART C + FASTENERS + HOSES
engineers can begin asking:
WHY CAN’T ALL OF THIS BE ONE PART?
That’s where additive manufacturing becomes much more powerful.
The biggest opportunity may not be printing today’s components differently.
It may be eliminating the need for those separate components altogether.
DESIGN → OPTIMIZE → CONSOLIDATE → 3D PRINT → PERFORM
The future of automotive manufacturing may look less like an assembly of individual parts — and more like integrated structures that appear almost grown rather than manufactured.
3DnMe — PRINT THE FUTURE
