WE Solutions plans to print cars

[Guillaume Albasini + 851]

A chinese company to start producing 3D printed cars in the next 12 to 18 month.  Now we should have to consider the impact of this technology on the car industry...

 

WE Solutions, the company supported by billionaire Li Ka-Shing from Hong Kong has announced plans to print electric vehicles in Shanghai. These will mainly be used to taxi and ride-hailing services in China.

Production of the 3D printed cars is set to start after completion of crash tests in the next 12 to 18 months. The factory has the reported capacity to print up to 10,000 EVs per year. The required printing technology is being provided by the US American company Divergent 3D, who holds a 27% stake in WE Solutions.

Divergent is planning to further sell the technology to other automobile manufacturers in China, or even eventually all of Asia. The factories are relatively cheap to set up, as well as modular, which is why WE Solutions plans to use this factory as a reference project, which will demonstrate the technology.

http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2151288/hong-kong-firm-backed-li-ka-shing-build-china-plant-3d-printed

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

I read the whole article.  Mind boggling.  Jeez I feel old now.  3D printed Electic Cars with Autonomous Driving.  Seems The Jetsons era has arrived...

Its aim is to bring together in one platform various EV technologies, from vehicle design and assembly to autonomous driving, in-car entertainment technology and charging. It recently completed a round of investments into EV firms in several of these areas.

 

[TraderTate + 186]

Yeah, I've also read they are already 3D-printing houses, though not really on a commercial scale, but it's here and getting bigger. 

[TraderTate + 186]

https://safehaven.com/article/45227/How-3D-Printing-Is-Revolutionizing-Manufacturing

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

7 hours ago, TraderTate said:

https://safehaven.com/article/45227/How-3D-Printing-Is-Revolutionizing-Manufacturing

"... If you thought self-driving cars were as far as the automotive revolution was going to get in your lifetime, you were wrong. We’ll go electric and be driven around by artificial intelligence, but we may also be getting from once place to another in cars that came off the 3D printing press.

The new LSEV is proof. This small electric car is almost entirely 3D printed—everything except the chassis, seats and glass. And it’s even smaller than a Smart Car. It was unveiled at the China 3D Printing Cultural Museum in Shanghai in March, and this month it will make an appearance at the Beijing auto show.

It’s made by Italy-based electric car company XEV in collaboration with Polymaker, a Chinese 3D-printing specialist. And they’re absolutely certain that 3D printing technology is about to revolutionize the automotive manufacturing industry.

In fact, they say, the LSEV “could be the milestone product in the adoption of 3D printing into mainstream production”.

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

Count me among the (guarded) fans of 3D printing. However, a lot of the noise around it is still only hype. That said, metal 3D printing has taken center stage these past couple of years and they are doing truly amazing things. Not sure if it will be possible to have a genuine, functional, everything 3D printed car in 18 months but there's no harm in trying, certainly.

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

I see I'm not the only one following 3D printing developments, so I thought we might as well have a topic for news and updates and stuff. As far as I see things, metal 3D printing will be the game changer cross-industry. As for oil, nice new market for plastic filaments and resins.