3D Cars move from the drawing board to the highway in 2019. Using 3D printers will make us more self-reliant and less dependent on retailers to provide products as well as better use current waste in landfills for a new purpose.Introduction
A few weeks ago, I was talking about 3D printed cars and Local Motors (http://theitlexicon.blogspot.com/2018/03/3d-printed-cars-local-motors.html). The main premise of the article was that instead of having large inventories of parts, sent from across the world, is inefficient compared to a large 3D printer which can put together your custom car in about 40 hours. Currently, these cars can not be driven on the highways, byways, and small alleys of the world's transportation system. Today's blog is to talk about the first 3D printed car ... that is coming to a road near you in 2019.
The LSEV
"The LSEV is a collaboration between XEV, a startup company located in Turin, Italy, and Chinese 3D-printing specialist Polymaker. At a joint press conference in Shanghai last week, the two companies told the press, “Although this new vehicle attracts much attention, this conference is not just about launching and exhibiting the car, it is more about how 3D printing technology brings revolutionary changes to the automotive manufacturing industry. This car, named LSEV, could be the milestone product in the adoption of 3D printing into mainstream production" (3)
"A few components of the car still have to be made by conventional methods, such as the chassis, the windows, and the tires, but the vast majority of the car is made by 3D printing. Although it would probably be easier, quicker and cheaper at the moment to use conventional production methods, the real point of 3D printing is that it dramatically reduces the amount of waste material produced during the production process. This has led the boss of Polymaker, Xiaofan Luo, to predict that the project will "inspire more [car] companies to adopt 3D printing." (1)
"A prototype for the LSEV demonstrates the performance it can offer. The prototype is claimed to be capable of a 93-mile range and can do 43mph. It weighs 450kg – close to half that of a Smart Fortwo.
It took three days to build the prototype and XEV expects production to eventually total around 500 units per year on a single production line. When sales open sometime in late 2019, likely to be in China first, prices are estimated to start at about £7100 [USD $10,050.97]." (2)
Outside of 3D Printing as an advantage for this type of automobile, "The LSEV has only 57 parts compared to well over 2000 parts in a typical car. Fewer parts mean lower costs." (3)
Why 3D Printing Maters
Back in the 1700's, an economist named Adam Smith wrote a book called,"Wealth of Nations". In that book, he described the "invisible hand" guiding the cost of products, regulation, and other principles. He also described the forces (when used properly) in which built a nation's wealth: land, labor, and capital.(4)
3D printing, the ability to mix plastics into anything you want without a team of workers modeling and shaping it saves time and money. The ability to pull down ideas (expressed in templates) to build anything from a prosthetic leg to a heart, to a car or even a house is a different mix of resources which can accumulate wealth. If I could build a car down the street at a printing facility, why do I need to buy one from another country (especially when we are entering an age of protectionism and higher tariffs)?
This is the perfect opportunity to take the Waste from landfills to make new filament, thus feeding the 3D printing revolution. "Plastic waste in the oceans and in landfills all over the world has been recognized as a huge problem in urgent need of a solution. Joshua M. Pearce from Michigan Technological University is working on several methods that could reduce the amount of plastic produced from petroleum. His approach: Using recycled plastic for 3D printing at home and in communities"(5)
Conclusion
If the cost of the 3D filament was reduced, who says when your car breaks down that you can't print the parts at home and easily replace them (For Example: if something happens to your bumper, you should be able to print out a new one). If you want to have a bottle of juice, just print the bottle. Then, you go to the store, load the juice into your bottle (pay for the juice) and go home. When you're out of juice, you recycle the bottle into 3D filament for another product. Using 3D printers will make us more self-reliant and less dependent on retailers to provide products as well as better use current waste in landfills for a new purpose. Doesn't matter if it is a bottle of juice, a comb, toothbrush, fidget spinner, or even a 3D printed car. Thank you for reading this blog! If you have any comments, please leave them in the area below.
Bibliography
(1) https://www.msn.com/en-us/
(2) https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-beijing-motor-show/world%E2%80%99s-first-3d-printed-car-due-roads-2019
(3) https://cleantechnica.com/2018/03/19/lsev-3d-printed-electric-car-costs-just-7500-possible/
(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations
(5) http://blog.drupa.com/de/3d-printing-at-home-could-be-a-green-and-socially-responsible-choice/
