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3D-Printed Car Takes Its First Test Drive

Posted by samzenpus on from the print-and-drive dept.

An anonymous reader points out this advancement in 3D printing. This week, at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago, Arizona-based automobile manufacturer Local Motors stole the show. Over the six day span of the IMTS, the company managed to 3D print and assemble an entire automobile, called the "Strati," live in front of spectators. Although the Strati is not the first ever car to be 3D printed, the advancements made by Local Motors with help from Cincinnati Inc, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have produced a vehicle in days rather than months.

29 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. it's means it is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Nobody 3D printed an entire car here. Just a stupid body shell, it's obvious the actual car, you know, the chassis, motor, tires, the *real* stuff, was made in an old Luddite factory.

    Idiots.

    1. Re:it's means it is by istartedi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I figured as much; but don't knock that. Talk to anybody who has wrecked the plastic on their sport motorcycle. If you could print that stuff at a reasonable price, that wold be HUGE.

      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    2. Re:it's means it is by SternisheFan · · Score: 5, Interesting
      This site has a time-lapse video of it getting printed out...

      http://www.digitaltrends.com/c...

    3. Re: it's means it is by rickb928 · · Score: 2

      Um, bad post. I meant that neither Local Motors nor anything associated with it are Luddite.

      Now let me reboot this frikin N7. Stupid touch problems.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    4. Re:it's means it is by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

      Sure, every little detail like the story being about 3D printing an entire automobile when absolutely no such thing has happened.

      I wonder if you'll be as forgiving when you buy a new car...

      And if you think a car has 40 parts, boy are you naive. Even my RC toys are more complex.

      FTA: As you can see by the Vine clips we have posted within this article, it most certainly does! The car, which features just 40 parts, drove out of McCormick Place in Chicago just moments ago. As to what Local Motors plans to do next with the Strati 3D printed car, now that the vehicle has been printed and drives like a charm, they will seek to launch production-level 3D printed vehicles for sale to the public in the coming months.

    5. Re: it's means it is by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

      You're right, of course. I'm one too, at times. Sometimes it's the little shit that bugs me, though being too much a grammar nazi can interrupt the flow of an online conversation. And english isn't alway's a 1st language for some posters here. Just saying.

    6. Re:it's means it is by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think people are just getting a little tired of the 3D printing hype. Yes, it's a cool emerging technology, but the sensationalism of these headlines and articles are a little grating at this point.

      Calling it a "3D printed car" is not exactly lying, but it borders on disengenuous, seeing that the guts of the car are, of course, still manufactured the traditional way. It's apparently the body and frame that were printed, from what I can tell. Seriously, would that have been so damn hard to mention in the summary or the article? Oh, but that sounds a lot less impressive, doesn't it...

      It was stated in the article that the car had 40 parts. I'm pretty sure they meant there were 40 printed parts, because there's no way in fuck you can build a car in 40 parts, unless you're conveniently counting the engine and frame as a single "part". Or maybe they're just counting each pre-packaged assembly as a "part".

      I don't think people would complain quite as much if there was any real semblance of critical reporting here - less hype and more tech.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    7. Re:it's means it is by mjwx · · Score: 2

      I figured as much; but don't knock that. Talk to anybody who has wrecked the plastic on their sport motorcycle. If you could print that stuff at a reasonable price, that wold be HUGE.

      Not just motorbikes. Today I noticed another scratch on my quarter panel (Perth, this is why we cant have nice things). If I knew I could replace the thing for less than $100 I wouldn't care so much (then again, the people who think it's OK to bang their door carelessly against my car might become even more reckless).

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    8. Re:it's means it is by Quantum+Apostrophe · · Score: 2

      You're insane. What about the wheels, the motor, the steering wheel, the chassis? Only the cover was 3D printed. The ACTUAL CAR WAS MADE FROM PARTS MADE IN A FACTORY. What, exactly, are you having a hard time with? Let's start with the wheels. Do you see any wheels or tires being 3D printed? Where did they come from?

    9. Re:it's means it is by SternisheFan · · Score: 2, Informative
      I'm insane? My mother said that to me once, but just once. ;^)

      You're insane if you think someone's able to completely print a car from plastic. You're taking this headline too literally. If the headline was "Man lands on the moon", would you complain that he used a rocket ship instead of jumping? Now give this subtopic a rest, the body and some parts were 3D printed successfully enough to create a drivable car. Here's another link to the story, and an excerpt:

      Michele Anoe of Italy submitted the Strati design, which calls for the car's body to be 3-D printed in a single piece -- an approximate 44-hour process. The 3-D printed car is made from ABS plastic that has been infused with carbon fiber. Local Motors said it believes it is the first company to ever attempt to print both the body and chassis components of a vehicle together, although others have built cars before using a 3-D printing process. After the vehicle was printed, Local Motors said it outfitted the car with mechanical components, such as motors, wiring, suspension and a battery. http://ktar.com/265/1766488/3D...

  2. It's First Test Drive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's First Test Drive

    Sigh.

    1. Re:It's First Test Drive by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      Le sigh.

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  3. Does it drive? by Iamthecheese · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No, "does it drive" is well down the list of questions I would ask. I want to know whether all the parts were printed, material costs, labor costs, whether it's street legal, safety, durability and/or ease of repair... In short I want to know whether there's a logical rational to saying anything but "meh". Considering they dodged every one of those questions the answers are probably down Meh road, past Slashvertisement junction, left at Hype street and first notachanceinhell on your left.

    --
    If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    1. Re:Does it drive? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      "Is it street legal" is probably one of the last questions I would ask.

      No, scratch that. I don't care if it's street legal. I just want to know if it's got two cup holders and decent sound system. And as a long-time Burnout Paradise player, I want to know how much boost it has and how well it drifts around turns.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  4. Cheaters by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They made the car extra small to print it quicker.

    Can someone tell me why the roll bar is significantly below the heads of both people sitting inside? What's the point? So you're slightly less dead when the car rolls over?

    They forgot the front roll bar too, around the windscreen. It's just a piece of glass or plastic.

    1. Re:Cheaters by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

      A rear spoiler on a front wheel drive car can help.
      Most cars experience lift at the rear, due to the vacuum created as the body shape moves downwards at the rear.
      It doesn't matter if you're in a front, rear or all wheel drive car, if the back wheel lose traction, it's bad news.

      But you don't need to worry about that if you're driving on the high way, since you're not going fast enough to lift the rear off the road, or making sharp, high speed turns. So the ricer spoilers do nothing but increase drag, lower the efficiency and reduce acceleration.

  5. Entire car? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

    the company managed to 3D print, and assemble an entire automobile

    When you buy an "entire car", they don't sell you an empty shell.

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  6. Grammar! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    You mean "its" and not "it's" first test drive, don't you?

  7. What sort of engine by rossdee · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What sort of engine can you print with a 3d printer?

    1. Re:What sort of engine by jeti · · Score: 2

      You could probably print a pneumatic engine. But this car uses electric motors that were not printed.

  8. Yes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would pirate a car!

  9. Grammar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    3D-Printed Car Takes It's First Test Drive

    should be

    3D-Printed Car Takes Its First Test Drive

    "It's" is a contraction for "It is". "Its" is a possessive pronoun. Please correct your mistake.

  10. Benefits/Effects by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I believe some real benefits of this would be the ability to customize cars and add after market parts. It would make, at least the body work, on a damaged car possibly much cheaper and faster. Another benefit would be replacing parts on cars that are no longer being produced.

    On the effects side this could greatly impact parts suppliers with the reduction of workers since only designers would be needed long term. It would also really change factories if a large percentage of the parts could be printed on site. Obviously some things like engines and electronics are far off, but body panels, plastic parts, etc could be done which would reduce the need for transportation of parts to the assembly site and reduce the complexity of the logistics chain for the factory.

    Overall if/when it works it will be a good incremental improvement to the entire supply chain of a modern automobile. I just think this article was a bit forward leaning in the title, but showing that many parts of a modern car could be made this way is a great leap forward, if it works on an industrial scale.

  11. I wish tech writers were more honest by MpVpRb · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes, it's a cool demo..congratulations to a bunch of cool engineers

    No, it's not a 3D printed car

    At best, it's a crudely 3D printed body shell over traditionally made parts

    There is no 3D printing tech available now that can print a ball bearing..or gears..or springs..or a motor

  12. And it looks abysmal too by DrXym · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Most extruded plastic 3D printers look bad, but this particular one looks terrible. The flaws are big enough to see in the promo video in SD. It's like a lumpy coil pot.

    As usual 3D printing is being used as an excuse for free publicity. Most of the parts could have been injection moulded with far greater quality & accuracy in far less time, assuming plastic was the best material to make them with in the first place.

  13. Re:NIce! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

    And don't forget we're still in the infancy of this technology.

    How long does an "infancy" last? 3D printing has been around since the '80s.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  14. Level of Abstraction by qpqp · · Score: 2

    A car most definitely does have more than 40 parts.
    However, if you have a relatively 'macro' level of abstraction and a "part" for you is the gearbox and another is the engine, then maybe you'll be able to say that this one has 40 parts.
    In reality, though, the engine alone has more parts than that.

    1. Re:Level of Abstraction by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

      Electric motor with battery power, motor came assembled.

    2. Re:Level of Abstraction by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

      Yeah, but if you had done it, you would have been proud.