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3D printer printing car
Father and son 3D print Lamborghini in their garage
Published on July 12, 2019 by Filippos Voulpiotis
When a few days ago the giant automaker, BMW, presented to the world its new model of its 3D printable at home concept car, a father and a son had already started working on their very own project, making a full sized 3D printed Lamborghini Aventador. The duo decided to create the majority of the supercar’s parts with small office 3D printers they own, and it must be said, the results are impressive! The father, Sterling Backus, a physicist, decided to turn the ambitious idea of 3D printing a life-size car in his garage into reality to show his son what technology is capable of. This example, seems to be one of many that evolve the term of large format 3D printing.
When it comes to the relationship between cars and 3D printing, it’s important to highlight that most vehicles have a few if any 3D printed parts. As of today (July 12th 2019) the available technologies are not enough to produce a whole car model. However, that does not prevent us from saluting the initiatives taken in the industry that enable the development of car production. Thanks to additive manufacturing, many components can be optimized and therefore weigh less, thus increasing the vehicle’s capabilities whilst reducing the overall cost as fewer materials are needed. In the case of Sterling Backus, such technological developments, have allowed him to own the supercar he wished to have without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The physicist already had a rich history with 3D printing, having used several FDM printers before. For this project, the CR-10S, CR-105S and QIDI Xpro machines were used. Sterling also explains that in total, 220 spools of thermoplastic filaments were used to make the entire body. PLA was used for the body panels due to its good dimensional stability, ASA and ABS were used for rear light housings and headlights, whilst carbon fiber filled nylon was used for interior parts requiring high strength.
The printing process was by no means executed perfectly from start to finish, as about 50 spools were used for several tests and failures.
In addition to 3D printing, the father and son have used other traditional manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, waterjet cutting, vacuum infusion and carbon fiber encapsulation. The physicist said: “We decided to use advanced technologies to build the car. However, we wanted to use low cost options. This led us to researching different techniques of automobile construction. After choosing to use 3D printing for most of the car body, we needed solidity. Very few choices of heat stress resistant materials were compatible with our 3D printers; so we turned to encapsulation of 3D printed parts with carbon fiber.”
Sterling wants to show his large format project to everyone, including local schools as part of their STEM project. He hopes to interest children in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, and what’s better at attracting children’s attention than a life-size partially 3D printed Lamborghini? The physicist recalls how ambitious the idea was 1 year and months ago, when he started working on it with his son.
They spent at least an hour per day, whilst over $20,000 were invested in total for the project, a relatively low price considering the cheapest version of the official Aventador retails at over $300,000! The physicist concluded by saying that he is not planning on selling the car, not to compete with the car manufacturer. Sterling describes his entire project on his Facebook page HERE.
What do you think of this 3D printed Lamborghini project? Let us know in a comment below or on our Facebook and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly Newsletter, with all the latest news in 3D printing delivered straight to your inbox!
Here's How Practical It Really Is To 3D Print A Car
The automotive industry is all about creating new and improved ways to make cars faster, lighter, and more cost-effective. 3D printing has been around since the early 1980s and the fact of the matter is, 3D printing still has a sci-fi feel and aura that surrounds it. The concept that involved three-dimensional objects could be produced by a single machine is still a fairly futuristic concept.
Up until a few years ago, 3D printing has been used for making one-off prototype parts for concept cars as well as test mules, but nowadays, 3D printing is now starting to be used to produce good quality car parts. Conventional methods for mass-production of cars such as injection-molding plastic and casting metal might still be more cost-effective, but 3D printing can still play a role in the production of vehicles.
Here's how 3D printing has been able to impact the automotive industry in a productive way.
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How does 3D printing work?
Via: RapidMadeA lot of us have heard about 3D printing and might have seen a few things being printed on the internet, however, we might not all understand how the technology works.
3D printers use a computer-aided design (CAD), and this program helps to create three-dimensional objects through a layering method.
3D printing involves layering materials such as plastic, composites, or even bio-materials to create the objects. The objects can be made in different sizes, rigidity, color, and even shapes.
So how does this all work? 3D printers work the same as your traditional inkjet printers except instead of printing ink onto a piece of paper, you 3D print the object that you design in your program. 3D printing takes a combination of top-of-the-line software, powder-like materials as well as precision tools to create a three-dimensional object from scratch.
You do not have to wait for anything to dry. Once it is printed, all you need to do is sand down the edges to make sure that it is smooth and your object is ready to be used.
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Advantages of 3D printing car parts
Via: WhichCar3D printing for cars might not be the usual way to get stuff done but there are a lot of advantages of using 3D printing for the production process of making cars.
Parts For Classic Cars
Classic cars are astonishing to look at and amazing to have in your collection. They are their own piece of legacy. Making the classic cars run, on the other hand, can be a bit of an issue because it is hard to find spare parts for cars that are no longer being made.
3D printing allows people to manufacture spare parts that we are unable to find anymore.
Customization
Car manufactures such as Mini, have made it clear that they want to start using 3D printing to allow their customers to design parts for their cars that are one of a kind.
Wheels had an interview with Mini exterior design project leader, Florian Nissl, in Australia. He had this to say about giving customers to option to design certain parts for their cars to make them more unique:
“For us, it’s also a little bit of a change in mindset, because for the very first time with this 3D printing we offer the customer a possibility to create a piece of the car that we didn’t design, so until now we sort of created a car for the customer, and now, even though the technology we have is limited so far, the customer can do stuff that maybe me as a designer would not do.
”
He went on to say:
“Maybe I don’t like that. But is my opinion really important in that case? I don’t think so, because my tastes are not necessarily better than anyone else’s, so I think it is a good possibility. And I can’t give you a precise forecast [of when this is likely to happen], but it would be good to have things like that happen more. Wheels are a good example, I think.”
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How much will it cost to 3D print a car?
Via: 3Dprinting.comThere is no exact price as to how much it is going to cost you to have a car 3D printed. It has been estimated that a car can cost you anywhere from $7,500.00 to thousands of dollars more depending on what type of car you wish to 3D print and how much material is used.
With that being said, 3D printing small customized parts will cost you a couple of hundred bucks, which is more affordable than getting it from a garage.
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3D printing is changing the Automotive industry
Via: Motor13D printing can change the automotive world for the good. It might not be used in most manufacturing places for mass production, but it is predicted that the 3D printed car market will grow into a $5.3 billion industry by 2023. Experts expect that the industry will increase to $12.4 billion in 2028.
3D printed cars are predicted to have an impact throughout the automotive industry. The impact will affect the car part section, classic car restoration, low-cost prototypes, tools, and more. 3D allows the automotive world to give their clients customization options that have never existed before as well as ensures that your classic cars will be able to get the spare parts that they need long after the parts stop being produced.
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Direct Wall Printer
Wallpen (Germany) has launched an innovative UV inkjet printing system for indoor and outdoor direct wall printing!!!!
According to the manufacturer, Wallpen's patented technology allows high-quality, long-lasting widescreen images to be applied to a variety of vertical surfaces, including plastic, wallpaper, wood, stone, ceramic tile, glass, metal, and concrete.
The new Wallpen printer has been in development for two years and has 15 patents. It features a four-color Xaar 128 printhead and is imprinted with a durable, lightweight aluminum module. Before starting work, the system scans the surface with a laser to identify its defects and irregularities and automatically adjusts to them.
The system is easy to transport and set up and is able to apply an image on walls up to 4 m high of any width at a speed of up to 4 m² / h with a resolution of 370 × 600 dpi. It can be transported in a small passenger car. The company expects that designers, artists, decorators and outdoor advertising producers will be interested in this novelty!!!
The Print-Wall is a flexible and mobile device that prints images and graphics in vibrant, durable, high quality colors directly from USB to plaster, wallpaper, wood, clinker, stone, plastic, glass, concrete, many metals and tiles, and more similar materials.
Create promotional images in foyers, design facades or walls with unique photographs, or bring life to apartments, offices, corridors and decorate kindergartens or schools.
Automated wall painter
Printing allows you to transform any room in a few hours. The client needs to select an image, drawing or photograph, as well as indicate the dimensions of the print (width and height). The printer will do all the work. The result is an exact copy of the image on the wall without errors.
The unique ink is odorless and absolutely safe for humans and animals. The curing time of the ink is a fraction of a second. The high resolution of the print (370x600 dpi) makes the print on the walls extraordinarily lively and realistic. The printer is controlled by a tablet wirelessly, and a special application facilitates the operator's work with print settings. It is easy to assemble and disassemble, easy to transport. Therefore, we can do our work even in remote customer locations.
Wall and wallpaper printing
Printed on plaster
Printing on wood
Printing on plastics
Printing on glass
Direct Wall Printer Models
1. Wallpen printer. Germany is the most expensive option.
Cost of wall printing machine 45.700 euros without delivery and includes:
Three Packs of WallPen UV Ink Cartridges (85ml Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow)
WallPen cleaning fluid kit (500 ml for cleaning printheads)
Android tablet 10" for wireless operation
Six corrugations for transporting the machine
Two days of training for two people
One year warranty
Download presentation (in German)
Printer specifications WP100
| Warranty: 2 years | Capacity: 8 square meters per hour |
| Certification: European Conformity, Independent Testing and Certification CE | Colour:Multicolor |
| After-sales service: Online support, video technical support | Dimensions (L * W * H): 1. 8 * 1 * 0.8 m |
| Features: Print length endless | Weight: 65 kg |
| Resolution: 1440 DPI | Ink Type: Water based ink |
| Print head: DX7 | Ink Colour: 4 colors/CMYK |
| Applications: Hotels, clothing stores, building materials stores, manufacturing plant, restaurant, home use, retail, printing stores, construction work, advertising company | Ink volume: 4 print colors 200CBM |
2. Perfect Laser Printer Co., Ltd. (China.)Model
PE-h40Price from $12,000.00-$13,500.00
Shipping: US$22
Guaranteed Money Back
Single Head Wall Printer - CMYK
Industrial grade printhead (Japan) x 1
Color print speed 32 sqm/h
3d wall printer for special wall decoration. Has a computer control system. The device connects to the computer via a USB cable.
You edit pictures (photos) in the computer and then send them to the printer. Management is very simple and convenient. The printer prints very fast.
1. The printer can print photos on the wall directly.
2. Uses an Epson print head.
3.Printer has 1 year warranty period (does not include ink and print head)
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
3. Chulei laser printer. Model chulei laser
PE-P40US $15 500.00
Dual Head Wall Printer - CMYK+W
Industrial Grade Printhead (Japan) x 2
Download Technical parameters of the printer in Russian:
Printer capabilities. how to organize your business.
work examples Order
Is it necessary to use rails for printing?
Question: Is it necessary to use rails for printing?
Answer: The car can work both on rails, and without them.
Rails are required on objects with uneven floor surfaces
What is the set of consumables?
Question: What is the set of consumables?
Answer: The consumable part is ink. One set of ink has 4 bottles with 4 different colors.
One bottle of ink - 500 ml. With one set of inks, 200 m2 can be printed.
h40 supports four CMYK colors.
Price - $100 for one ink set.
h50 supports CMYK+W five colors.
Price - $150 for one set of CMYK and $375 for one bottle of white ink
White ink imported from USA, Dupont brand. Bottle capacity 1000 ml. The white ink ingredient is different from CMYK. It is not recommended to use cheap analogues of white ink, because. they can easily block the print head.
We offer original ink produced by a well-known American brand, the quality of which has been tested by time.
Protective Liquid
Price is $85 per bottle. One bottle - 1000 ml. We suggest you buy 2 bottles for one year use
How is the machine controlled?
Question: How is the machine controlled?
Answer: Management using a built-in computer with a simple and understandable software for an ordinary user
What is the print height?
Question: What is the print height?
Answer: Print Height: 2m
What is the print length?
Question: What is the print length?
Answer: No limit. The standard rail length is 3 m. The rail can be extended. One set of rails is 1.5m. The price is $275 for one set. Rails can be disassembled.
They can be easily and conveniently put into the car
Which cleaning fluid should I use?
Question: What kind of cleaning fluid should I use?
Answer: It doesn't need cleaning fluid, just uses purified water to clean the print head. The machine has an automatic cleaning system that can automatically clean the print head. Just click the "Clear" button in the program.
How much does a replacement print head cost?
Q: How much does a spare print head cost?
Answer: The price is $1500 for one piece. The scope of delivery includes fasteners for h40 and H40. The resource of the print head is from 60,000 to 80,000 m2. This print head is specially designed by Japanese company Epson only for our company. According to an individual contract, this type of print head is supplied only to our company.
How portable is this printer?
Question: How mobile is this printer?
Answer: The printer can be used with or without rails.
Operated by built-in touch screen. You can move it to any place without additional wires. You also don't need to buy extra. a computer. When folded, the printer is quite compact
What happens if the power goes out during work?
Q: What happens if the power goes out during operation?
Answer: The machine is protected by UPS. While the machine is running, the UPS battery is being charged. The machine can continue to work for 12-15 hours after a sudden power failure. The cost of this UPS is more than $1500. In similar printers on the market, the battery can only last 20-30 minutes
🚙 Best Automotive & Automotive 3D Printing Files・Cults
🚙 Best Automotive & Automotive 3D Printing Files
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VW Beetle BAJA BUG - fully 3D printable
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