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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.
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"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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