3D printing for high-speed trains
Siemens Mobility plans to use 3D printing for producing spare parts of the Sapsan high-speed trains running in Russia. To this end, the German company has purchased two 3D printers from US-based manufacturer Stratasys. They will improve the maintenance operations of these vehicles.
According to the last year agreement, Siemens Mobility is committed to providing the maintenance and service of the Sapsan high-speed trains for the 30-year period. Two industrial-grade Fortus 450mc 3D Printers developed by Stratasys have been installed in Saint Petersburg and Moscow at the company’s maintenance facilities. “The Stratasys 3D printers give us the capability to cost-effectively produce the parts in-house, partially eliminating the need for warehousing or tools for a selected range of items,” said Alexey Fedoseev, Head of Customer Services at Siemens Mobility Russia. The German manufacturer is using the 3D printing technology to produce the train parts for the home and British rail markets.
Sapsan high-speed trains
The Sapsan high-speed trains belong to the Velaro family being developed by Siemens Mobility. In Russia, this type of rail vehicles is running since 2009. At the moment, Russian Railways (RZD) operates 16 ten-carriage trainsets branded as ‘Sapsan’ (Peregrine Falcon in Russian). The German company produced them at its manufacturing site in Krefeld from 2007 to 2014.
RZD operates the Sapsan high-speed trains on two routes: from Moscow to Saint Petersburg and to Nizhny Novgorod. In 2019 the Russian railway company ordered 13 more Sapsan trainsets. They will be delivered in 2022 – 2023. Besides Russia, the Velaro high-speed trains are running in Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey and China.
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