14 DAY TRIAL // Local Motors revealed its 3D printed car a fair while ago, but the time since has been strangely bereft of updates on the matter. Until now, anyway. We can finally tell you some specifics about the car.
Admittedly, the information on the car could be compiled or deduced from various sources even before today, but there's nothing like a manufacturing and testing “report” to give people an idea of what they're in for.
By the way, this isn't another episode of Local Motors releasing a scaled-down, toy version of the car. It's the real thing that we're looking at here.
The Local Motors 3D printed car
Created for people who want a means of getting from point A to point B without pulling anything too fancy or dangerously quick, the car was 3D printed in two days.
More precisely, the seats, body, dash, center console, hood and, of course, chassis were 3D printed over a period of 44 hours.
That's a very small amount of time compared to the days and weeks it takes to make the parts through traditional assembly lines and then assemble them. There are 49 parts in total.
Admittedly, the car itself is pretty small, especially height-wise, but that was to be expected, since it's not something intended for cross-country treks.
Indeed, it's more of a convenience vehicle if anything, especially since it doesn't use fossil fuels, and thus, can't reach high speeds because of that.
Perhaps in a couple of decades, electrical cars will match the fossil fuel-based automobiles of today, but as it is, electrical motors can't do nearly as much yet. Case in point, the Local Motors 3D printed car reached 45 mph / 64 kmph on its best day.
The vehicle is called Strati by the way. The motor and associated electromechanical parts were, of course, not 3D printed. The battery should last for 120 to 150 miles / 190 to 241 km.
The parts themselves
The chassis and body of the 3D printed vehicle is made of a single piece of 3D printed material, ensuring a good endurance. We can thank Cincinnati Inc. for their printer that can create parts in 3 x 5 x 10 feet / 0.91 x 1.52 x 3 meters.
The printing was fully performed at the International Manufacturing Technology show in Chicago, last month. Altogether, the vehicle should cost around $17,100 / €13,400 when it finally goes on sale. We don't know the exact ETA though.
