California based auto manufacturer, Divergent Microfactories, built Blade, the first eco-friendly 3D printed supercar, as a solution to safeguard our environment and at the same time build stylish, performance oriented, powerful cars.
“At Divergent Microfactories, we’ve found a way to make automobiles that holds the promise of radically reducing the resource use and pollution generated by manufacturing. It also holds the promise of making large-scale car manufacturing affordable for small teams of innovators. And as Blade proves, we’ve done it without sacrificing style or substance. We’ve developed a sustainable path forward for the car industry that we believe will result in a renaissance in car manufacturing, with innovative, eco-friendly cars like Blade being designed and built in microfactories around the world,” says Kevin Czinger, founder of Divergent Microfactories.
Brad balzer, the lead designer of the project reported that Blade comes with 700 horsepower bifuel four cylinder engine powered by gasoline or compressed natural gas which can go about 0-60 kmph in about two and half seconds. The chasis weighing 102 lbs is constructed out of 3D printed aluminium nodes and carbon fibre connectors, which makes it lightweight and less expensive. The process employed to 3D print the nodes is Direct Metal Laser Sintering process which offers the best combination of material strength, flexibility, print speed and cost.
The company plans at helping small business with their technology to create high performance and light weight vehicles reducing the impact on environment and health unlike the traditional manufacturing processes.
The Blade will be exhibited at 3D printing USA 2015, an annual conference and exhibition on Nov 18-19 and Kevin Czinger will be giving a presentation on “Dematerializing Auto Manufacturing.”