This came about when, just a few years before retiring from Renault Trucks, Dominique became fascinated by Antonio’s graduation project. For he had imagined an off-road truck for 2030, 12 m long and 6 m high designed to carry hydrogen – a new “fuel” – to those parts of the planet which no longer have any source of water. He had the idea of entering this for the 24th edition of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France competition, which was open to two-person teams. This possibility appealed to Antonino Lo Ré, and so both of them signed up in the industrial modelling category.
The project consisted of producing a model from start to finish based on the concept truck designed by Antonino Lo Ré. For the purposes of the competition, the aim was to actually add to the difficulties involved and vary the techniques used. Working from his original design, Antonino Lo Ré first digitised the entire vehicle before individually creating 3-D models of each one of the 200 parts making it up. Then, these virtual parts were manufactured using different techniques – from the most modern, such as laser sintering using aluminium powder or three-dimensional printing, to the oldest, using gouges, riflers, templates and sanders to produce handmade models!
The choice of which technology to use was made according to the purpose of the part in question and the degree of resistance it should have. “For the suspension arms, we chose laser sintering which gives a great deal of rigidity. On the other hand, the wheels were made from rubber using a three-dimensional printer,” explains Dominique Pasinetti.
A real technological and physical challenge, the Meilleur Ouvrier de France competition is won on merit. For the jury will not accept the slightest defect. It judges not only the project’s difficulty and the techniques used, but also of course, the result. Down to the finest detail. Dominique Pasinetti recalls that, “One day, when I was supposed to do some drilling in an area that was hard to access.
Source: http://corporate.renault-trucks.com/en/press-releases/tow-generations-of-meilleurs-ouvriers-de-france-at-renault-trucks-kuz.html
