large format 3d printing for luxury cars
for those with more money than sense, a 3D-printed car
Some companies are looking closely to large scale 3D printing as
an opportunity for consumer based democratization. Giving people the
opportunity to call the
shots about how they want their next car to look both inside and out is a
powerful motivator among consumers who find the idea of making their car their
own appealing.
There are new
businesses that are taking this idea to heart like the car startup Hackrod
whose goal is to be able to invite anyone who is interested to design their
next vehicle by personally using the latest tech around, which may end up
including, but is not limited to,
virtual reality, generative design software and even artificial
intelligence that can streamline the whole process significantly. For many
aspiring companies that are trying to gear 3D printing of large parts towards
providing aesthetic liberties to the public at large it’s still early days.
However, it may be one of the newest and most successful types of models to
emerge in the foreseeable future. To take the idea of by the people for the
people, a real Volkswagen is sure to gain steam.
As a matter of fact, it has gotten to where it is today thanks to
a well run and successful crowdfunding campaign. Now, it is looking to partner
up with major companies that will make it a viable reality. One of the most
recent supporters is Siemens which is helping Hackrod develop their proof of
concept car, a speedster that’s playfully entitled, La Bandita. The hope with
this partnership is to use Siemens’ PLM software in order to streamline the
design process as much as possible so as to turn it into a responsive and rapid
process that frees consumers from the hassle of getting too bogged down in
computerized complexities. Complexities that in the background would be making up the
programming that makes all of this a futuristic reality.
Dr. Slade Gardner, Hackrod CTO envisions achieving a number of
advancements through the Siemens partnership including, but surely not limited
to, “optimized aesthetic design, robust validated design, complex advanced
manufacturing and rapid in-situ quality assessment.” Thereby ensuring that
consumers may confidently pursue what they want without having to concern
themselves about any hiccups along the way.
It’s a lot to have locked down before it is open to the public. The idea is to put together a
car with virtual reality, engineer it with responsive artificial intelligence
and finally to 3D print it to a T.
One major step towards getting the general public involved with large
scale 3D printing is through the
exterior panels. While relatively large this is the most expressive part of the
car and therefore is of great interest to those who would like their
individuality to be clearly on display while on the road.
This is what
the oldest car manufacturer in all of Japan is doing. The company called
Daihatsu is launching what they are calling Effect Skins for their Copen car
which you can adjust and tweak in variety of ways. They´re printed with major
automotive 3D player Stratasys, the company that mounted the first car, which
is to say the bodywork and windows, utilizing through additive manufacturing
tech, the Urbee. And the best part is that drivers can swap out their carefully made designs
whenever the mood strikes them. It just takes two weeks to design it and mount it on top of your your car.
This is because the material that’s used to make the Effect Skin is acrylonitrile styrene acrylate(ASA)
thermoplastic, which is both
durable and provides
UV protection.
Major car companies that are embracing 3D facilitated customization
aren’t too numerous at present as with the implementation of most technology,
it’s pretty risky and costly to bring to market. You just don´t know how people are going to
feel about it. Ford, for example, has been making big strides in
prototyping but are very
skeptical about consumers´willingness to pay that extra.
At the same
time, companies that have invested in this potentiality in big ways and are poised to become major players.
In a prime example, you
can’t talk about the implementation of large part 3D printing without
mentioning BMW who were way ahead of the game and particularly saw the
potential for this sort of technological innovation to prototype and in this way try out many
different ideas from bumper to bumper and actually put them to the test. They
were able to produce at an unprecedented rate. This major car company is testing out these
waters through their MINI Yours Customized service wherein customers get the
opportunity to 3D printed options to make your next car your own by upgrading different parts
with the help of an online customizer. Said tool features a variety of options
that include surface finish, color, patterns, logo applications and things of
the like. Once you have your part just the way you want it, the order is placed
with a production facility in Germany to actually construct the part using
processes such as laser lettering, 3D printing and others.customization, interdisciplinary
training for development engineers.
Their
Additive Manufacturing Centre in Munich each year develops and manufactures
well over 100,000 specially designed components and have their sights set on
the personalization of vehicle parts. Plans are for this type of construction
to increase as the BMW Group has announces that they looking to invest more
than 10 million euros in a brand new campus with over 6,000 square meters to
use in Oberschleissheim, near the city of Munich. Its being described as the
ultimate, and most importantly completely centralized, 3D testing playground
for new technologies in the early stages. everything from prototype
construction to series production that will be achieved with 30 industrial
systems for plastics and metal at their disposal, without the need for more
limiting classic tools like injection moulds and press tools.
Rolls-Royce which is now owned by BMW uses up to 10,000 3D
printed par for their latest Phantom lines , they’re not exactly amateurs.
Today, 25 years after they began adopting additive manufacturing, or AM, in
their Rapid Technologies Center, they use it all over the place, most recently
to construct engines, exhaust systems, whole road-ready cars and replicas of
their most vintage models. As such they view themselves as leaders in terms of
industrial applications and prove it with new models like the BMW i, an
electric plug-in car that was launched in 2011. Thanks to their bustling center
they can prototype at an unprecedented rate of 25,000 prototype requests a year
which speaks to its integration to the car development process as a whole.
The reason why they believe in this path with a certain degree of
confidence is that for them it makes sense to invest in giving people the right
to choose, however,
ideally not just choose but actually develop a well thought out idea that they
have had brewing in their mind, perhaps to accommodate their lifestyle and
personally Nalgene needs. For about a century consumers may only do choice as
far as picking out the specific model and certain features. Among these forward
looking companies there’s a believe that people don’t necessarily want to drive
the exact same car as thousands of other people on the road..
Common sense dictates that what the future of the automotive
sector holds for us as individuals is something radically different than what
we’re accustomed to today. Perhaps
the flying car is still a ways off and a vision of what will take hold and
actually work to makeup the market in the next century is to put it simply,
pretty hazy. But where there is uncertainty, there’s opportunity.
The democratization by way of car customization makes sense for some companies that want to take input directly
from the public.
This feel quite obvious for some, but scary for the executive that´s simply eying the bottom
line. The idea is to
invest in consumers that are looking for opportunities
to raise their
status among strangers as well as friends and family. To say, through their preferences, that they
are unique, expressive and socially conscious. Like how clothes work for us, particularly in instances such
as those where we mark a special occasion or event.
Many car
enthusiasts understand the importance that lightweight construction has on a
vehicle, particularly one that you wish to race around in. The BMW i8 Roadster
delivers to this end thanks to the lightweight construction of its top cover
that was made possible by additive manufacturing which is additionally stronger
because of the process.
Naturally
they are also looking towards printing motorcycles and have recently unveiled a
S1000RR chassis and swing arm that looks so organic that it looks like it
belongs on the set of an Alien movie.
Bentley is working on the future of luxury behind the wheel and
hopes to design a car that through large format 3D printing can be both lounge
and automobile. Complete with two sofas that face each other and are separated
by a coffee table that features a holographic butler it’s meant to rethink the
way we get comfortable in this type of space.
Although it may not come out for a decade or two, it is very likely for
new and flamboyant designs such as this to steadily gain steam, all thanks to
the very simple fact that large format 3D printing saves time. On high end
custom jobs they can easily save years on development as much as construction.
Simply put, it’ll be easier to try things out and as a result, think outside
the box. Traditionally, a lot has to happen before a new model is brought to a
sales lot.