First highway-ready 3D-printed car may be under way

Global SourcesUpdated on 2023/12/01

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Local Motors wants to put a road-legal version of the Strati for about $18,000.

Kevin Lo's design for Local Motors' first highway-ready 3D-printed car (Source: Local Motors)

Local Motors recently made headlines by creating the Strati 3D-printed car. The chassis, interior, fenders and other parts were all created using a 3D printer, resulting in a car that was able to go up to 50mph but was not street legal as it omitted safety features such as seat belts. The company wants to put a road-legal version of the Strati on the market next year for about $18,000 as part of its larger plan.

The company announced the winner of a design contest for the first highway-ready 3D-printed car under the company’s Project [REDACTED] competition. In essence, the company crowdsourced a design that they intend to put into production in 2016. Created by Local Motors fan and 3D modeler Kevin Lo, the Reload Redacted - Swim and Sport design may be cumbersomely named, yet it looks anything but.

While engines and other parts of the car are a long way from being printed, the contest and the Strati demonstrate that the idea of a custom, 3D-printed car is not far away. In addition, with the increasing availability of sophisticated 3D modeling software such as PTC Creo, which Lo used to create the design, the idea of crowdsourced models for a variety of use cases is likely to become even more common.

See a comparison table of selected 3D printer suppliers from GlobalSources.com

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