Maybe you’re walking down the street. The middle of the street. You can, because they are empty while people charge their electric cars. Suddenly… WHAM! Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go rings in your ears as you lift your body off the pavement. You’ve just been hit by an Urbee. “I’ve just been hit by an Urbee,” you say. You would file a hit and run report, except you feel honored that your hip-bone has been slightly fractured by its 3D printed exterior. You recall 3D printed architecture, but this, this was a car.
Jim Kor, owner of Kor Product Design and professional engineer, has a special place in his own hip-bone for the Urbee. He’s the Project lead and Senior Designer on the team creating the hybrid three-wheel, rear-engine car. We caught up with him over email to find out a little more behind the process of being one of the first to attempt using 3D printers in the process of manufacturing a car. Here’s the story.
“Finally!” you think, “A cheap 3D printer I don’t have to build myself.” Yes, you’re probably already doing the calculations in your head. For a mere $3.5 million US dollars you can buy 1,000 of these suckers and build a tower of 3D printing power the likes no one hAS EVER SEEN!! muwwahhHAHA!!
Can you 3D print an aircraft engine? Yes, yes you can… granted you have the inclination and enough thermoplastic to scare a small horse. Last year at Autodesk University 2009, Autodesk and Stratasys saddled up to reveal an aircraft engine created in Inventor and printed using the Fortus3D production system.
Well, I’m about the only one who hasn’t weighed in on the deep, molten pool of plasticy ramifications seeping out of the HP + Stratasys 3D printer deal which happened last week.
