Local Motors takes 3-D-printed car to next level

Will the car of the future be manufactured locally on demand, with every customized feature you could possibly imagine and desire?

Gina O'Connell thinks so. She is general manager of a Local Motors microfactory being developed in Las Vegas. Her company showcased its most recent 3-D-printed car, the LM3D Swim, during the Specialty Equipment Market Association's annual trade show earlier this month at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

"This car took four days to print and assemble, but we are working toward a 24-hour turnaround time," O'Connell said.

Local Motors' headquarters are located in Chandler, Ariz., and a second microfactory facility is also being built in Knoxville, Tenn.

The company partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a large-format, 3-D-printer technology big enough to print a full-sized car, then challenged its online community of 30,000 automotive designers to create 3-D models of concept vehicles, by using Solid Edge computer-aided design tools from Siemens.

Members of the design community include professional automotive engineers, but also students and hobbyists, who all share a common interest in designing their own personal vehicles.

Last year during the SEMA show, Local Motors actually printed and built the Strati model car on the site of the Las Vegas Convention Center while the trade show was underway. The printing session took 44 hours to fabricate the rough chassis, fenders and other printed parts from thermoplastic pellets reinforced with carbon fiber materials that were donated by SABIC.

Another eight hours were required to mill the printed parts into finished components that met the smooth-fitting tolerances of the design specifications.

Final assembly of the Renault electric-motor drive train, as well as suspension, steering wheel, seats, wheel hubs, lights, control instrumentation, wiring harness and detailing, took the next two days of the conference to complete, just in time for the annual SEMA Cruise down the Strip.

This year's concept car, the LM3D Swim, was designed by Local Motors community member Kevin Lo when he wasn't working his day job at HP. The judging panel for the design challenge included former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and Local Motors Vice-President of Vehicle Technology John Waraniak.

The winning entry has the retro-modern look of a classic dune buggy, complete with surfboard. The vehicle was printed and fabricated at the Chandler facility, then shipped to the 2015 SEMA show, where it was the centerpiece of the Local Motors exhibit booth.

Instead of paint, the body top was covered with a red, printed vinyl wrap whose smooth features offset the rougher chassis design look of the black carbon-fiber reinforced ABS plastic. Other 3-D-printing materials with exotic names such as Ninja Mix were used to create more flexible and bendable components for the LM3D Swim.

"In the past few months our engineers have moved from only a rendering of an image, to the car you see in front of you today," said Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors. "We are using the power of direct digital manufacturing to create new vehicles at a pace unparalleled in the auto industry, and we're thrilled to begin taking orders on 3-D-printed cars next year."

Original designs from other international members of the online community were also showcased at the Local Motors booth, including the off-road Rally Fighter truck and the Verrado electric drift trike.

The original Local Motors business model has been similar to the "kit car" industry, where customers purchased the company's designs and vehicle components but built each vehicle themselves with the support of the Local Motors community.

Now the company seems to be expanding into a more traditional automotive manufacturing business model, with the construction of a microfactory in Knoxville that is scheduled for completion by the end of 2015.

Production models based on new designs for the LM3D series of 3-D-printed vehicles will be crash-tested and highway-certified during 2016. Early presale opportunities for these vehicles will also become available later next year at a targeted MSRP of $53,000.

Once the vehicles become safety-certified, manufacturing and delivery will begin in 2017 from the Knoxville facility.

Local Motors is also partnering with IBM to help integrate customer relationships with the microfactory, the online design community and 3-D-printed vehicles to create a unique driving and ownership experience. Overnight fabrication of your personally designed vehicle might become a reality some day soon.

From bytes to bits, the Local Motors platform hopes to combine global co-creation with local micro-manufacturing facilities to bring design and hardware innovations to market at unprecedented speed.

To learn more about Local Motors and even join its online design community, visit the company website at www.localmotors.com.