The Urbee Hybrid is the World’s First 3-D Printed Car
Posted By Diane Pham On November 1, 2010 @ 2:45 pm In automotive,Green Transportation | 2 Comments
[4]
If you thought that the Porsche hybrid [5] was an incredible piece of automotive [6] design, then you’ll be blown away by the Urbee. The entire body of this streamlined new gasoline/ethanol hybrid has been generated using 3-D printing technology. A collaborative design by Stratasys [7] and Kor Ecologic, the Urbee is the first car ever to have its entire body printed using additive manufacturing processes.
[8]
The Urbee was designed for the 2010 X-Prize Competition [9] — the eco-friendly vehicle able to get up to 200 mpg on the highway and 100 mpg in city conditions using either gasoline or ethanol. An undoubtedly innovative design with a keen futuristic aesthetic, the Urbee also signals what could be a shift towards more efficient and flexible automotive [10] manufacturing.
“FDM lets us eliminate tooling, machining, and handwork, and it brings incredible efficiency when a design change is needed,” Jim Kor, president and chief technology officer at Kor Ecologic explains. “If you can get to a pilot run without any tooling, you have advantages.”
3-D printing technology has seen many advancements over the last few years. Once a costly process with questionable results, today it’s being widely used to build everything from blockbuster costumes [11], to buildings [12], to even body parts [13] – it’s no surprise to see motor vehicles joining the list.
+ Stratasys [7]
Via Fast Company [14]
Article printed from Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: http://inhabitat.com
URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/the-urbee-hybrid-is-the-worlds-first-3-d-printed-car/
URLs in this post:
[1] Tweet: http://twitter.com/share
[2] Share on Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/share
[3] Email: mailto:?subject=http://inhabitat.com/the-urbee-hybrid-is-the-worlds-first-3-d-printed-car/
[4] Image: http://inhabitat.com/2010/11/01/the-urbee-hybrid-is-the-worlds-first-3-d-printed-car/urbee-hybrid-vehicle/
[5] Porsche hybrid: http://inhabitat.com/2010/07/30/porsche-gets-the-go-ahead-for-the-sexiest-hybrid-ever/
[6] automotive: http://www.inhabitat.com/transportation
[7] Stratasys: http://www.stratasys.com/
[8] Image: http://inhabitat.com/2010/11/01/the-urbee-hybrid-is-the-worlds-first-3-d-printed-car/urbee-hybrid/
[9] 2010 X-Prize Competition: http://inhabitat.com/2010/09/16/progressive-auto-x-prize-announces-10-million-winners/
[10] automotive: http://www.inhabitat.com/automotive
[11] blockbuster costumes: http://www.ecouterre.com/static/17545_iron_man.php
[12] buildings: http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/17/3-d-printer-creates-entire-buildings-from-solid-rock/
[13] body parts: http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/22/scientists-use-3d-printer-to-create-first-printed-human-vein/
[14] Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1698943/the-urbee-hybrid-the-first-car-to-have-its-body-3-d-printed
Click here to print.