14 DAY TRIAL // The whole point of 3D printing technology is customization, and Ai Design has decided to take the concept and push it to its logical extreme when it comes to its activities involving vehicles.
For those who haven't heard of Ai Design, it is a luxury car manufacturer that doesn't make cars by means of some manufacturing line, through pure automation.
Instead, the company takes orders from customers and builds the cars according to their requests. This leads to a much higher price for the finished product, but it's not like Ai Design has customers outside the truly rich anyway.
3D printing technology is employed both in key car parts and the making of the dashboard and other accessories, like tablet docking bays and speaker panels. Normally, Ai Design would have to build the parts by hand, or through CNC manufacturing that have long lead times and are very hard on the wallet.
3D printing dramatically reduces both the time of construction and the costs involved, hence Ai Design's transition from normal methods to Fused Deposition Modeling.
Ai Design has formed a partnership with RedEye, a division of global 3D printing major brand Stratasys. Real, engineering-grade thermoplastics are used in the construction of the car parts, which can be primed, sanded and even painted.