Video: 3D Printing at Local Motors
The car manufacturer uses extra-large 3D printers all the way down to desktop machines at its Knoxville, Tennessee, factory.
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We’ve reported previously on Local Motors, a manufacturer that is building customized and autonomous vehicles with the help of 3D printing. While the firm uses desktop printers for prototyping and tooling, it also manufacturers large end-use parts for its vehicles using Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) 3D printers. The body of the Strati car and structural components of the Olli self-driving shuttle have been built from carbon fiber-filled ABS on this extra-large printer.
Why 3D print these parts? Weight, cost and time savings can all be realized through this “toolingless” manufacturing method. In the video above, Brittany Stotler, vice president of marketing, explains the ways that Local Motors’ Knoxville, Tennessee, microfactory is leveraging and advancing 3D-printing technology.
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