04 November,2010 02:11 PM IST | | Agencies
Two firms in the US have collaborated to develop a car built entirely by a 3D printer.
Urbee was made using additive manufacturing processes, which prints layer upon layer of material to create a product.
Many manufacturers, including aeroplane giant Boeing, print their parts, but this is the first time an entire machine prototype has been created using the 3D printing process.
Every exterior component of Urbee, including the windscreen, was made using 3D printers and Fortus 3D Production Systems by Stratasys, who teamed up with Kor Ecologic to create the energy efficient car.
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Jim Kor, of the Kor Ecologic, said the process eliminated tooling, machining and handwork.
"If you can get to a pilot run without any tooling, you have advantages," News.com.au quoted him as saying.
The electric/petrol hybrid car is extremely fuel efficient, getting approximately 85km/L on the highway.
The futuristic looking vehicle can be charged from a regular household power outlet or can draw power from renewable sources such as sunlight or wind.
This combined with the environmentally friendly production process is part of the manufacturers' goal of Urbee being ''as green as possible''.
A full-scale prototype, along with this 1/6 scale finished model of the Urbee will be displayed at the SEMA automotive show in Las Vegas next week.
