World’s first 3D printed supercar unveiled

The automobile industry has advanced with each passing year by bringing in new car models, designs and technologies. Although, computer technology has advanced by leaps and bound the manufacturing processes and the effects that it has on our environment have relatively remain unchanged.

Over the past decade, 3D printing technology has caught the fancy of the automobile industry and Divergent Microfactories (DM) has tapped in on this technology to create a supercar that is built based on 3D printed parts. The company is trying to change how cars are made in order to hugely reduce the amount of materials, power, pollution and cost associated with making traditional cars.

This new supercar is called Blade and is claimed to have 1/3 of the emissions of an electric car and 1/50 factory capital costs of other manufactured cars. DM states that its manufacturing process is a bit different from that of other manufacturers. Instead of 3D printing an entire vehicle, the firm 3D prints aluminium ‘nodes’ which act in a similar fashion to Lego blocks.

The company states that 3D printing allows them to create elaborate and complex shaped nodes which are then joined together by off-the-shelf carbon fibre tubing. Once the nodes are printed, the chassis of a car can be completely assembled in a matter of minutes by semiskilled workers. The important goal that the car manufacturer is striving for is the reduction of pollution and environmental impact.

The company is planning to scale up to an annual production of 10,000 units of these limited supercars, making them available to potential customers. DM also plans to make this technology available to other manufacturers as well. The company will also sell the tools and technologies so that small teams of innovators and entrepreneurs can open factories and build their own cars, based on their own unique designs.

DM claims that the node-enabled chassis of cars built using this unique 3D printing method, are up to 90 per cent lighter, much stronger, and more durable than cars built with more traditional techniques. The 3D printing technology has been touted as a technology of future and could help car manufacturers customise many products, according to the company.