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Rather than milling away a block of metal a printercreates a component from the bottom up adding toit layer by layer from a print head Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Technology raquo Climatewire

3-D Printing Poised to AdvanceCleaner CarsThe technology could help make more efficient cars more cheaply

January 29 2015 | By Umair Irfan and ClimateWire

Its rare that a gleaming azure legend onwheels fails to turn heads but at the Detroitauto show earlier this month Oak RidgeNational Laboratorys Shelby Cobra facedstiff competition for attention

Acura and Ford introduced their newsupercars while other automakerspresented nextshygeneration hybrids andelectrics Towering matte military fightingvehicles and shiny trucks vied for the eyes ofmore than 800000 attendees

But in this showcase all about the future ofthe auto industry the Oak Ridge Cobra a throwback to 1967 was a harbinger ofthings to come

The polished paint and chrome belied bodywork that came out of a 3shyD printermaking the roadster a victim of its own success

People would walk by it and say We dont get whats going on said Lonnie Lovegroup leader for the manufacturing systems group at Oak Ridge

It wasnt until Love placed a sign on the windshield saying Yes its a 3D printed carthat more people stopped to check it out

The project was a proof of concept showing the potential of additive manufacturing inthe automotive industry Rather than milling away a block of metal a printer creates acomponent from the bottom up adding to it layer by layer from a print head

Using these techniques automakers can cut development time shrink the carbonfootprint of their production cycle and tailor their vehicles for specific markets

We set out to develop technologies that could really push the envelope of a printedvehicle Love said

A fraction of the parts all of the speedOver the course of six weeks researchers printed the chassis and bodywork for theCobra from carbon fiber reinforced polymers While a production car can have more

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3112015 3shyD Printing Poised to Advance Cleaner Cars shy Scientific American

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than 20000 parts the Oak Ridge roadster had fewer than 70 and weighs about 1600pounds

Literally you could put a whole new drivetrain in in a couple days Love said Thewhole car in terms of manufacture was extremely cheap The price tag came out toabout $14000 he added

Though the Oak Ridge Shelby Cobra traded the throaty rumble of a Vshy8 for the purr ofa 100shykilowatt electric motor it could still lay rubber going from zero to 60 mph inless than five seconds The motor drivetrain brakes and wheels came off the shelf

Its really exciting what Oak Ridge is doing because it shows us that we can take thisto a much larger level said Ellen Lee team leader for additive manufacturingresearch at Ford Motor Co Its really beautiful she said of the Cobra

Automakers have used additive manufacturing techniques in some form for the past30 years but printing was largely limited to oneshyoff parts used only in the design andprototype stage

Its really tough today to compete with manufacturing processes like injectionmolding and stamping Lee said Though the machines that produce parts like doorsbumpers and chassis take months to set up and cost millions of dollars they makecomponents in seconds which is essential for factories that crank out a halfshymillioncars at a rate of one per minute

Additive manufacturing on the other hand can take hours per part There are alsopotential structural problems Parts are printed in successive layers so they maywithstand stress in one dimension but fracture when bent a certain way

Shorter production time using less energyThe printing process also leaves ugly scalloped edges The Oak Ridge Cobra requiredextensive sanding and smoothing to match the curves of the classic

For a large manufacturer like Ford the value of 3shyD printing comes further upstreamin designing cars and the tooling needed to manufacture them

Rather than restructure an entire assembly line engineers can test fit parts in alimited production run fix problems and print again

By using these technologies in the prototypes phase you can iterate though designswithout changing the tooling said Harold Sears an additive manufacturing technicalspecialist at Ford

This speeds up the product cycle from something that spans years to a few monthsallowing new car designs to hit highways faster

In addition instead of competing with molds and stamps engineers can use 3shyDprinting to make the tooling itself Sears explained that much of the tooling used tomake car parts for a specific model is milled from steel and aluminum an expensivetimeshyconsuming energyshyhungry process For a prototype or a limited production carthis is overkill and it expands the energy footprint of a production line

With a 3shyD printer engineers can develop custom tools in hours designingcomponents with strategically placed internal pockets to reduce weight and theamount of material used something thats impossible to do with conventionalmachining processes Reducing the energy used in production creates a morefavorable footprint for clean technologies like electric and fuelshycell cars shrinking theenvironmental payback time

New automakers however are looking to take additive manufacturing furtherLawrence Gasman president of SmarTech Markets Publishing a 3shyD printingresearch firm observed that 3shyD printing lowers the barriers to entry for automotivesuppliers and companies building cars at smaller scales Its going to lure more

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entrepreneurs into the business he said

Microfactories curbing expensesOne such company is Local Motors based in Phoenix Ariz The company printed itsown car the Strati on the floor of the Detroit auto show The company aims to buildcustomizable cars at microfactories around the country

Justin Fishkin chief strategy officer at Local Motors said his interest came fromwanting to build fuelshyefficient cars for climate changeshyconscious island communities

I couldnt find any auto manufacturer in the world interested in making 50000units he said The volume wasnt big enough for them It seems like a lot of cars tome but it didnt move the needle

Using crowdsourced designs the company aims to give car buyers more control overtheir vehicles Fishkin said he envisions a dealership resembling an Apple store wherea customer comes in picks the features he or she wants on a computer and then picksup the printed car the next day

This approach lets the company hedge between different clean technologies Whatwere doing with this digital platform is were allowing the consumer to choose whatfuel they want to run on Fishkin said

In a region like the Eastern Seaboard where electric vehicle chargers are moreprevalent a customer may select an electric drivetrain In an area with hydrogenstations a buyer may want a fuel cell Others may prefer a gasoline hybrid

Using 3shyD printing Local Motors can accommodate all of these choices withouthaving to build a massive plant for each version And with a microfactory in everyregion the transportation and delivery expenses of a car go down shrinking its carbonfootprint

When the car is traded in Local Motors can recycle it and give the customer a credittoward a new vehicle The company already has factories in Phoenix and Las Vegaswith planned facilities near Washington DC and Knoxville Tenn

Earlier this month President Obama announced that the University of Tennesseewould lead the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation a $259million research consortium with 122 members including Oak Ridge Ford and LocalMotors (Greenwire Jan 9) The goal is to produce materials for lighter cars stifferwind turbine blades and cheaper gas storage tanks

As a result according to Oak Ridges Love interest in 3shyD printing is growing and thescience is rapidly advancing

Its a rocket taking off he said

Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment amp EnergyPublishing LLC wwweenewsnet 202shy628shy6500

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