The first 3D printed car was built Saturday at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago and then taken for a spin.
Named Strati — Italian for "layers" — the electric car was printed out of carbon fiber plastic over the course of 44 hours right on the show floor at McCormick Place by Cincinnati Incorporated.
"Less than 50 parts are in this car," Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors,
told KFOR-TV. Local Motors is based in Market Square, Tennessee, and was produced with the help of students from the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Labs.
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"You could think of it like Ikea, mashed up with Build-A-Bear, mashed up with Formula One," said Rogers.
The body, seats, and other major parts were 3D printed using direct digital manufacturing (DDM), however materials like the tires, wires, suspension, and battery were not. The motor used is a Renault Twizy, which can get the car up to street speed — 40 mph — but not highway speed. It gets roughly 120 miles off a single charge.
If this particular Strati model were to be mass manufactured it would cost between $18,000 and $30,000, but seeing as this is the world's first-ever drivable 3D printed car, the company hopes to continue to design lower cost cars.
Major car manufacturers like Ford have used 3D printing for prototyping, but have not built a drivable car using the technology,
Mashable reported.
The Strati was designed by Michele Anoé of Italy, who won a contest held by Local Motors — beating out over 200 other entrants.
"This brand-new process disrupts the manufacturing status quo," said Rogers. "It changes the consumer experience and proves that a car can be born in an entirely different way. Whatever you can imagine is what this process can entail," Rogers added.
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