You might recall the Urbee – the world’s first 3D printed car, developed in 2011 by Kor EcoLogic? The design of this amazing car pioneered several important 3D printing techniques.
Now Kor EcoLogic is pursuing a second version of the Urbee, with intentions of going into production. Evidently they’ve “worked out the bugs since then and now says he’s ready to go into actual production”, according to an article in the Grand Forks Herald.
Improvements include parts designed in ways not possible without 3D printing. The bumper, for example, includes ductwork and other integrated features. This makes not only fewer parts, but it reduces the overall weight of the vehicle significantly. According to the Herald piece, the new version should require around 50 parts, whereas standard car design would demand hundreds or even thousands of parts.
Kor EcoLogic has partnered with RedEye On Demand to produce the parts for the new Urbee, as there’s evidently some 2500 hours of 3D printing required to build the necessary parts.
Will Urbee 2 go to production? We’re not sure as the cost of printing is obviously going to be expensive. Nevertheless, Kor EcoLogic already has orders for 14 units.
2500 hours! Or 1 car every 3 months. While the capital cost of a modern day auto factory is a lot higher, I imagine on a per unit basis it is a lot cheaper and they will have a production speed of something more like 1 car every 3 hours…