Alstom is one of the largest railroad companies in the world. The high-speed trains that the company manufactures can be found in all major rail markets on 6 continents and in over 60 countries around the world. Alstom is headquartered in France and has hundreds of facilities worldwide, including a large production and service center in Sesto San Giovanni, Italy.

Lorenzo Gasparoni – a product manager for 3D printing and 3D scanning – is based there. 3D printing was introduced to this team as part of an innovation project in 2019, but in recent years it has emerged as a mainstream production option.

Alstom not only manufactures advanced next-generation high-speed engines and railcars, but also provides services to a large customer base with fleets that can be over 30 years old. As rolling stock ages, there are a number of components that need to be maintained or replaced in order to extend the service life of a rail vehicle. “In 30 years’ time, the original suppliers of the product may no longer exist, perhaps the molds used to make the parts have been destroyed, because after 30 years there are costs involved in maintaining a mold,” says Lorenzo. It can be a challenge to find or produce spare parts.

In mid-2022, Lorenzo’s team was tasked with producing hundreds of footrests that needed replacing – they would use 3D printing as an alternative to a new tool and mold for relatively small quantities. A 3D printer with higher speed would also serve to better respond to urgent customer requests: “It is uneconomical for our customers to stop a train to wait for spare parts, so we need to be able to offer them a quick solution.”

Lorenzo Gasparoni, Product Manager for 3D printing and 3D scanning at Alstom

In September 2022, Lorenzo’s team added an NXE 400Pro ultrafast 3D printer from Nexa3D. “We worked with 3DZ to find the right technology. At first we were considering SLS, but the post processing costs were too high. We also looked at a couple different resin options including Carbon, Envisiontec, and 3D Systems, but in the end after reviewing the printed parts and materials, we went with Nexa3D.” Lorenzo notes that the large build volume, high speed, monocomponent resins with an open platform were all key benefits that made the NXE 400Pro stand out.

After installing their new ultra-fast 3D printer, they got to work printing footrests. It only takes 10 hours to produce 30 footrests on the NXE 400Pro. The xABS3843 resin – manufactured by Henkel Loctite – is an excellent replacement for the Lexan from which the original footrests were molded, and the print quality is so good that no sanding, priming or painting is required. Lorenzo also points out that the 3D-printed parts bring considerable cost savings: The minimum order quantity for injection molding is over 500 parts, and at this quantity, the cost is around €200 per part. With the NXE 400Pro there is no minimum order quantity and the cost is €50 per part, so it’s much more affordable.”

To date, the Alstom team has produced over 100 replacement footrests that have been installed in railroad cars. Lorenzo sees successes like the footrest as proof that 3D printers like the NXE 400Pro are increasingly being used for spare parts and beyond.