The Strati concept car is being assembled by Local Motors for its launch at IMTS 2014.
The world’s first 3D printed vehicle is set to drive out of the International Manufacturing Technology Show 2014 this weekend. Using SABIC’s carbon fibre-reinforced material, the fully functional vehicle is currently being printed and assembled live at the show by automotive design specialists Local Motors.
SABIC’s LNP STAT-KON carbon fibre-reinforced compound was chosen for its excellent strength-to-weight ratio and high stiffness and better look and performance. As a market leader in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and advanced thermoplastics, SABIC’s expertise in material selection and validation, equipment specification and processing was crucial to the project.
Andrew Jamison, CEO for CINCINNATI said: “Visitors will get a first-hand look at the future of additive manufacturing and its possibilities to transform the industry with our Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine running SABIC material and printing polymer components 200-500 times faster and 10 times larger than today’s additive manufacturing machines."
Local Motors also collaborated with Cincinnati Incorporated, a large-scale manufacturing system builder and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a pioneer in advanced materials research, to develop and validate the technology and materials needed to deliver large format 3D printing technology.
Tony Cerruti, Marketing Director, for SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business said: “SABIC’s materials and processing knowledge together with this advanced additive manufacturing technology will help to address the manufacturing challenges our customers are facing – the high cost to innovate. We believe that this technology has far-reaching potential for applications across the multiple industries that SABIC serves, bringing designs to market faster and enabling mass customisation.”
The Strati concept vehicle stemmed from a Local Motor’s Design Challenge which received over 200 entries from more than 30 countries. If the project is a success the car will set off on Saturday 13th September at IMTS, Chicago.
