The Urbee 2, a 3D-printed hybrid car, might just revolutionize the way we think about cars.
Using a 3D-printer to form the car allowed the design team to focus on optimizing automobile physics. The teardrop-shaped lightweight car has a 0.15 coefficient of drag. The average Hummer has nearly 5 times that.
The three-wheeled Urbee 2 will run off of a 36-volt electric motor for speeds up to 64 km/h. For speeds up to 170 km/h a diesel engine will kick in.
It takes hundreds of hours just to print a single bumper and 2,500 hours to print the whole car. The car’s dashboard — traditionally hundreds of pieces of metal and plastic — can be printed as one solid piece of 3D-printed ABS plastic.
Of course the engine and base chassis are made of metal, but the company is working on creating a hybrid engine too.
Designers expect the car to pass nearly all safety requirements. In some jurisdictions the vehicle may be classified as a motorcycle.
The company is based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba but has been making international waves. A trip from San Fransisco to New York on only 10 gallons of gas has been planned.
If you like the idea of 3D-printing cars, you will also like 3D-printing your friends.
Via Wired
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