3D Printed Shelby Cobra- It's REAL!

[MR2 Fan]

Thought this deserved its own thread.

President and VEEP both checked it out, for the 50th anniversary of the Shelby Cobra.

http://3dprint.com/36433/3d-printed-shelby-cobra/

http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/o2.png

Now the caveat is it is just the body and frame that were 3D printed, with the motor and electrics being "standard", though the motor is electric.

The weight of the 3D printed stuff is 1/2 the regular car and 3x stronger.

This is the future people!!

[Godson]

The lines look different to me. Very cool though, but i want real hard numbers.

[Sad, little man]

It's certainly an accomplishment, but the lines look extremely off to me. It looks downright awful from the rear. Also, I want to know how much work it took to get the body to actually be smooth enough to paint.

[MR2 Fan]

It's certainly an accomplishment, but the lines look extremely off to me. It looks downright awful from the rear. Also, I want to know how much work it took to get the body to actually be smooth enough to paint.

Agreed, though I've seen other Shelby replicas that the lines are a bit 'off' as well. Perhaps legally they had to change the design a certain amount?

[Kchrpm]

The body before it was smoothed out is in the article.

http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/o6.jpg

[Phil_SS]

I thoroughly approve of the method but the execution is lacking. It is more a Cobra like look than the actual correct proportions.

But I am intrigued and I think we are only about ten years away from being able to get your own custom car. Some things like frame and drivetrain will be the same but the body can be totally custom. Coach builders will design and print your body.

[21Kid]

I agree. Very cool. :cool:

[tigeraid]

http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/9e/e2/7b/9ee27bbe434cb24156362d1f94e2765c.jpg



Seriously, I thought 3D-printed cars looked like this:


http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE0LzA5LzE3LzUwL1N0cmF0aS5jNDQzMS5qcGcKcAl0aH VtYgk5NTB4NTM0IwplCWpwZw/093671c7/15e/Strati.jpg

:twitch:

[Kchrpm]

They can look like whatever you want them to.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Just like from dot matrix printer to photo realistic color prints, I'm sure eventually resolution will increase and you can probably also print out smooth body panels along with your sponsor logos on it! Surely we'll also be able to print out engines directly eventually. Just need to add oil when it's done!

It's just kinda hard to predict how rapidly these advancements will take. Could be within our lifetime I suppose.

[Kchrpm]

You can 3D print really smooth stuff, but that's at a small scale. If you want to print an entire car quickly, you're doing thicker levels.

[FaultyMario]

I was going to joke about it with a reference to a PSA found on DVDs, but alas, that is sooo 2005...

[Godson]

:lol:

Yes, yes I would print a car.

[MR2 Fan]

You can 3D print really smooth stuff, but that's at a small scale. If you want to print an entire car quickly, you're doing thicker levels.

The difference is the LocalMotors car was done in 44 hours as a proof of concept for how quickly they can get it done. The Shelby Cobra was done with the same kind of machine, but designed to be a replica, and smoothed and painted...in one of the videos posted on the Shelby link, it refers to how they had to come up with new techniques for finishing the material for smoothing and painting it all.

I'm seriously interested in seeing 3D printed tires next...some cool stuff could come out of those things I think. There's already a number of different flexible and rubber-like materials available, even for home printers. Being able to combine different materials in a tire on a mm thin layer could do wonders for structure and durability.....having said that, so far I haven't heard about anyone working on that.

[MR2 Fan]

More info in this article:

http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/9368/ORNL-Debuts-its-3D-Printed-Shelby-at-the-Detroit-Auto-Show.aspx?ENGCOM=

"Researchers printed the Shelby car at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL using the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine, which can manufacture strong, lightweight composite parts in sizes greater than one cubic meter. The approximately 1400-pound vehicle contains 500 pounds of printed parts made of 20 percent carbon fiber."

[21Kid]

So, when can I buy one?!?

[Crazed_Insanity]

You can start by printing out toy cars!

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12944?utm_source=SparkFun+Customer+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0ad0b8c2cf-RegCustomerNews1-9-15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa5287abaf-0ad0b8c2cf-61254417

[LHutton]

So who's going to test drive it at 160mph?

[Crazed_Insanity]

No worries. Soon we'll be able to print out our very own Stig!