10 Innovative Cars That Have 3D-Printed Parts

What is the future of auto design and production? What is a car factory going to look like? That answer could lie within 3D printers, a manufacturing process that has recently gained steam and is being used for a wide variety of things. The future of all automotive engineering and design could depend on CAD software and the rapidly improving technology that could completely revolutionize the way we think about cars.

Porsche and Honda have already released certain car designs that are available to gearheads with access to basic 3D printing machines. The released designs would allow car fanatics to actually print out small, detailed models of some of their favorite cars. Basically, anybody can design and 3D print their creations nowadays. See how car companies have already been integrating this new process with 10 Innovative Cars That Have 3D-Printed Parts.

10. Equus Bass 770

Parts That Were 3D Printed: Instrument panel, headlight and taillight bezels, HVAC ducting, glass trim panel fender, console covers, seat belt covers.
3D Printing System Or Company: Solid Concepts (Stereolithography, Fused Deposition Modeling, Selective Laser Sintering, and Cast Urethanes).
Creators: Equus Automotive and Solid Concepts.
Building Location: Detroit, Michigan.
Unique Features: Equus Automotive began to collaborate with Solid Concepts in 2011, after the car company relocated to Detroit, Michigan.

The creation of the Equus Bass 770 is a tribute to the muscle cars of the 1960's and 1970's, but also a demonstration of the impact of modern technology on the luxury car industry and their timeless designs-- a blend of the old and the new in one gorgeous product.

1961 Aston Martin DB4 exterior

Parts That Were 3D Printed: 1961 Aston Martin DB4 exterior
3D Printing System Or Company: $500 Solidoodle 3D printer
Creators: Ivan Sentch
Building Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Unique Features: Sentch's printer can only print parts with a cross-sectional area of 4 squared inches. The whole car is being pieced together with these small blocks of pieces.

Ivan Sentch is a programmer by occupation, but creating a life-size 1961 Aston Martin DB4 is his passion and a project that he has been working on in his garage. At the moment, Sentch has printed most of the parts needed to create the car. He is now planning on creating a fiberglass mold to fit onto the electronics and engine of his 1993 Nissan Skyline. The 3D-printed Aston Martin exterior will then be placed on top of this fiberglass skeleton and a customized interior will then be added to the car.

Ford Prototypes

Parts That Were 3D Printed: Ford Mustang: Engine cover, Ford C-MAX Hybrid: Rotor supports, transmission cases, damper housings, and end covers, Ford Fusion:Four cylinder Ecoboost Engines, Ford Explorer: Brake rotors. Ford F-150: Exhaust manifolds for 3.5 Liter EcoBoost.
3D Printing System Or Company: 3D sand printing
Creators: Ford Motor Company
Building Location: Dearborn, Michigan
Unique Features: At the moment, Ford is experimenting with selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, and stereolithography 3D printing methods.

According to Ford, 3D printing has drastically reduced the manufacturing costs during the designing process. Before 3D printing, just creating one prototype could take about four months for a cost of $500,000. However, with the advent of 3D printing, a designer can constantly manipulate the software prototype and then generate an actual prototype within four days for a cost of only $3,000.

Jay Leno's EcoJet super car

Parts That Were 3D Printed: Air conditioning ducts
3D Printing System Or Company: NextEngine 3D scanner and Dimension 3D printer
Creators: Jay Leno and his garage maintainence team, the General Motors engineering and design team headed by Ed Welburn, GM Vice President of Global Design, and Frank Saucedo, head of GM's design studio in North Hollywood, California.
Building Location: Burbank, California.
Unique Features: The air conditioning duct was printed using plastic rather than metal.

It is incredibly hard to manufacture car parts for vintage vehicles. However, with the innovation of 3D printing, complex vehicle parts can be designed using CAD software and then printed with the same level of detail. The EcoJet super car is Jay Leno's very own creation-- a 650-horsepower turbine-engine powered car that is also environmentally friendly. The supercar can run on bio-diesel fuel.

Jay Leno's 1907 White Steamer

Parts That Were 3D Printed: Feedwater heater and D valve
3D Printing System Or Company: NextEngine 3D scanner and Dimension 3D printer
Creators: Jay Leno and his garage team
Building Location: Burbank, California
Unique Features: The White Steamer's feedwater heater took about 33 hours to create.

Oh, you thought it was difficult to find parts for your old muscle car? Try finding them for a car that was built when your grandpa was born. With the use of 3D printing, fixing and replacing classics is much easier.

Skyfall's Aston Martin DB 5

Parts That Were 3D Printed: Eighteen components of the main body of the car.
3D Printing System Or Company: Voxeljet
Creators: Propshop Modelmakers Ltd.
Building Location: Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Unique Features: The car models used in the making of the film were only a third of the size of an actual 1960's Aston Martin. A grand total of three replica cars of this kind were created for the filming process.

As a car fanatic, you might have had some trouble watching Bond's 1960 Aston Martin DB 5 get completely annihilated in the film Skyfall. But don't worry. The film makers couldn't bear to see the classic get destroyed either, so they decided to use 3D printing to create smaller models of the car. These models were each made up of 18 separate components. This ensured that they would look authentic and original.

Genesis

Parts That Were 3D Printed: The internal frame of the car.
3D Printing System Or Company: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Creators: EDAG Engineering firm
Building Location: Fulda, Germany
Unique Features: The car body was inspired by the shell of a turtle, which can provides both protection and cushioning.

The German Engineering firm, EDAG premiered their concept car Genesis at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show. They hope that their concept car will be able to be manufactured on a mainstream basis within the next ten years. The body of the vehicle is constructed from thermoplastics and carbon fiber. There is also a metal casing that protects the 3D printed internal frame of the car.

Urbee 2

Parts That Were 3D Printed: The main body of the car
3D Printing System Or Company: Stratasys
Creators: Jim Cor, President of Kor Ecologic and leader of Urbee engineering team
Building Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Unique Features: The car is powered by electric motors and a small combustion engine that uses ethanol fuel.

The main focus of the Urbee project was to create an eco-friendly car inspired by nature. The design of the car is also heavily based on aerodynamics principles. Jim Kor (leader of Urbee team) even analysed the aerodynamics of agile predators, such as a cheetah or falcon while brainstorming for the car's design-- the ears of the cheetah will flatten during the chase while a falcon keeps its talons flush to its body during flight. Kor's two sons, Cody and Tyler, plan to take a cross-country drive between the two coasts of the U.S. in the new car, along with their dog, Cupid.

Bloodhound Supersonic Car

Parts That Were 3D Printed: The hollow, titanium metal cone at the very front of the vehicle
3D Printing System Or Company: AM250 manufacturing-grade laser melting machine
Creators: Bloodhound team lead by Richard Noble and the Renishaw Company
Building Location: Bristol, England
Unique Features: The supersonic car utilizes a EJ200 Jet engine and a Hybrid Rocket engine as power sources.

This supersonic car is designed to reach a speed of 1,000 mph. The vehicle is about 14 m long and weighs about 7 tons. Its engines can produce 135,000-horsepower, which is approximately six times more than the power produced in Formula 1 racing cars. The design of the vehicle actually combines current automobile and aircraft technologies. The front portion of the car is composed of carbon fiber while the back portion of the car that houses the jet engines is composed of metal.

Koenigsegg One:1

Parts That Were 3D Printed: Exhaust end piece
3D Printing System Or Company: Dimension 1200es and Stratasys for prototypes only
Creators: Koenigsegg
Building Location: Angelholm, Sweden
Unique Features: According to Jalopnik, the Koenigsegg One's exhaust end piece is the largest piece of titanium ever printed. The piece took three days to create.

The Koenigsegg One can generate about 1,360-horsepower, making it one of the fastest cars in the world. That means the car can be driven at speeds of 273 mph. The engineers who designed the Koenigsegg strove to cut out all excess weight and so the car is primarily created from carbon fiber. The exhaust end piece was 3D printed using titanium instead of aluminum, which cut 400 grams (0.88 pounds) from the car's overall weight.