You wouldn’t download a car, would you? Yes, yes I would, if that means I can 3D print it!
Blade is the first 3D printed supercar from San Francisco-based Divergent Microfactories. It weighs way less than your average vehicle – 90 percent less; and it can reach 60 miles per hour in about 2.5 seconds. CEO Kevin Czinger says that even though the world is going green, trying to find ways to reduce the costs of manufacturing vehicles should also be a priority – and it also saves energy due to the fact that it doesn’t require so much hard work to assemble.
Now, Blade isn’t just a prototype available for events, or whatever auto-moto shows there are. It’s a functional supercar that you could drive on the road – that is, if you have enough money to buy it. It’s unknown at the moment how much Blade will cost, but rest assured that it’s going to stand near the Buggati Veyron’s price tag.
Its design speaks future, and the big gull-wing doors offers a sneak peak on what the trend of designing supercars is heading – not really a big fan of this design. The two-seater Blade has a powerful 700 horsepower engine, and because its 3D printed chassis, it’s way more lighter than any other supercar.
It weighs about 1,400 pounds, that is 635 kilograms for you metric users.
Blade’s chassis weighs under 100 pounds, and it can be assembled in under half an hour – capital costs are significantly less than manufacturing your average supercar, and according to CEO Czinger, they used only a 50th of the usual factory capital cost.
Because it weighs less, it uses less fuel to run, making it the best eco friendly supercars in the world. Who said you can’t drive at blazing speeds on the highway, and still love mother nature?
Although 3D printing is the key to manufacturing Blade, larger parts weren’t build using the 3D printing method because it would take too much time.
Divergent Microfactories CEO Kevin Czinger said that – ” Society has made great strides in its awareness and adoption of cleaner and greener cars. The problem is that while these cars do now exist, the actual manufacturing of them is anything but environmentally friendly. “
Take a look at the clip just down below where the team at Divergent Microfactories talks about their Blade supercar.
Czinger also adds that building a factory that could create Blade-like vehicle will entail in costs that compare with opening a microbrewery factory – $10 million according to Forbes also.
Brad Balzer, who is the company’s project lead engineer said that – ” the nodes and carbon-fiber tubes were tested and that they held up well.”
Now, we should see some reports about how safe the 3D printed supercar really is, and jump on the bandwagon of 3D printed cars if it works out to be less expensive.
