It was only a matter of time until I put something on this blog about 3D printed cars. I’m not a motor enthusiast by any regards, but the challenge to create a car is a complex problem that can be solved. Cars can have around 5000 parts which need to be created individually and then assembled. Spare parts need to be created and can often be left in massive storehouses until needed.
Local Motors has developed a 3D printed car known as the ‘Strati’. One of the difficulties with designing a car is the time/cost of development from design to manufacturing. Printing via 3D printing allows a better examination of the car and negates the need to have specialist tools made for the car itself. Recently shown at a Chicago trade show, the car is composed of a mix of plastic and carbon fibre, was printed in a few days, is composed of 49 parts and only specialised parts like the electric engine, tyres and suspension were created the traditional way.
Currently, this prototype can achieve a top speed of 65 kilometers per hour and is expected to retail for $20,000 ($AUD) once it has approval to be driven on roads.
Whenever that occurs, it does signal an important milestone in 3D printing. Might it see the end of those car dealerships? We’ll wait and see.
Here’s a link to the localmotors website: https://localmotors.com/localmotors/the-3d-printed-car-aka-direct-digital-manufacturing/
3d Printing the Future 