local motors’ strati car is 3D printed live on NAIAS 2015 show floor
images courtesy of local motors

 

 

debuting at the 2015 NAIAS, the local motors’ ‘strati’, the world’s first 3D printed car, will be fabricated and assembled live on the show floor to premiere a new fleet of vehicles that will be manufactured and sold at their new micro-factory in national harbor, maryland. the event based in detroit, is the latest product development of michele anoè’s competition-winning design, that was first successfully completed at the 2014 international manufacturing technology show in chicago. the mid-model refresh has a three-phase process: print, refine and finish. the first stage approximately takes 44 hours to fully fabricate 212 layers of the ABS plastic that is reinforced with carbon fiber provided by SABIC. the middle process uses a thermwood CNC router to mill the finer details when the printing is complete, and is then followed by adding the components such as the drivetrain, electrical equipment and tires.

 


the first 3D printed car at chicago’s international manufacturing technology show in 2014
video courtesy of local motors

 

 

 

‘since launching in 2007, we have continuously disrupted the way vehicles are designed, built, and sold,’ said local motors co-founder and CEO john b. rogers, jr.  ‘we paired micro-manufacturing with co-creation to bring vehicles to market at unprecedented speed. we proved that an online community of innovators  can change the way vehicles go from designed to driven. we pioneered the concept of using direct digital manufacturing (DDM) to 3D-print cars. I am proud to have the world’s first 3D-printed car be a part of our already impressive portfolio of vehicles’