3D Printed Car

A car that was created by a 3D printer?
by Peter Printer

I am so excited. No excitement doesn’t quite cut it. Eager. Over-wrought. Spirited. Ecstatic. I’m getting closer. It is like my birthday has come early! Oh, do I have a treat for you.

3D printers have been making great advances in the past couple of years, but this is truly amazing what they are doing now. I was reading this cool article the other day about the first 3D-printed electric car. Wow, image that! Plus, it will be the first that you can download and print yourself. Yep! That is right.

The automaker, Local Motors developed this 3D-printed car, the Strati, using their open-sourced concept, which they had on display in September at the ITMS 2014 Show in Chicago. Its entire chassis is 3D-printed using carbon fiber-reinforced ABS plastic (80% ABS plastic and 30% carbon fiber reinforcement). It took about 44 hours to do so and approximately 212 layers of material. Once printed, sections are then milled smooth using a computer-5-axis router. The engine, electrical components and tires then added on.

Local Motors is planning on having the Strati, which is still in the prototype phase, ready for the road in late 2015 when you can purchase the kits or print your own version through a general public license, either a full-size depending on your printer size or a smaller table-top miniature 1:10 scale. Access will be through their website: https://localmotors.com/3dprintedcar/ allowing for downloading of the build manuals and 3D-printing files, and the sharing of project improvements and modifications helping to further develop future innovations and advancements.

I can’t wait. I wish I could print one of these out. If only I had arms and a driver’s license!

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