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Kevin Czinger of
Divergent Microfactories has spent most of his career in the
automotive industry. One day he realized that no matter how
fuel-efficient or how few tailpipe emissions the modern car has,
the business of car manufacturing is destroying the environment.
"3D printing of metal radically changes that. By looking at 3D
printing not for that overall structure but to create individual
modular structures that can be combined, that 3D printing
transforms everything," said Czinger during an interview with
Reuters in Silicon Valley.
According to Czinger, 3D printing transforms everything by
changing the way the structural components of cars are
fabricated. Currently cars are pieced together on long assembly
lines inside large factories that use massive amounts of energy.
Even the most fuel-efficient car has a large carbon footprint
before ever leaving the plant.
Czinger and his team's approach was to take the large plant out
of the equation. To accomplish this they printed the modular
pieces that are used to connect carbon rods that make up the
Blade's chassis.
"The 3D printed chassis is only 102 pounds and has the same
strength and safety protection as a frame made out of steel,"
said Brad Balzer, the lead designer on the project.
By using carbon fiber instead of steel or aluminum for the body,
the entire vehicle only weighs 1400 pounds (635kg), giving it
twice the weight to horsepower ratio of a Bugatti Veyron.
The Blade is fitted with a 700 horse power engine that runs on
natural gas, reducing its carbon footprint even further.
Balzer says designing an eco-friendly speed demon supercar as
their first prototype was intentional.
"We focused a lot on the aesthetics of this car because it is
very important to capture the people's imaginations, especially
when we are talking about the core enabling technologies," he
said.
The core enabling technology, the ability to print out car
components that can be easily assembled, is what Kevin Czinger
hopes will revolutionize car manufacturing. He says electric
cars are a step in the right direction, but alone they won't be
enough to curb greenhouse emissions given the projected rise in
demand for cars globally unless the way they are manufactured
changes.
"By constructing a car this way it has less than one third of
the environmental and health impact than the 85 hours all
electric car for example has," he added.
Czinger and Balzer are starting small but they believe their new
3D printing method for car manufacturing will have a huge impact
on how the cars of the future are built.
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