HVE Completes Tool-Free 3D Printing Process for Rail Components

HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering (HVE) and its research partners have completed a 34-month project developing a tool-free, fully recyclable manufacturing process for large-format heavy-duty rail vehicle components.

The team validated the technology by producing two demonstrator parts for Siemens Mobility‘s ICE 3neo (Velaro MultiSystem, Class 408) high-speed train: its nose section and front skirt. The “3D-FiberTrain” project, funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the European Union, ran from September 2023 to June 2026.

A hybrid process built entirely on thermoplastics

Rail vehicle outer skin components are currently manufactured using thermoset-based composite techniques such as hand lay-up or vacuum infusion, processes that require expensive tooling, take