Several days ago, you read about the 3-D-printed tiny house that builds within 24 hours for roughly US$4,000. It looks like this technology is making waves beyond architecture and construction with the introduction of this “world’s first” 3-D-printed electric car.
The ‘LSEV’ is brainchild of Italy-based electric car company XEV and 3-D printing material organization Polymaker. The duo unveiled this mass-producible vehicle at a recent press event held at the 3-D-Printing Cultural Museum in Shanghai, China.
CNBC reports that according to Polymaker, the US$7,500 electric ride only required three days to build. Everything except the chassis, seats, and glass of the ‘LSEV’ were 3-D printed.
For a city ride, the ‘LSEV’ would likely suffice; anything cross-country though, could be stretch. The eco-friendly automobile harnesses a top speed of 43 miles per hour and can cover a range of 93 miles on a single charge.
This vehicle, which weighs 450 kilograms, is much lighter than its similar-sized, standard counterparts. Polymaker explained that the team was able to reduce the number of plastic components and modules within the car, from a sizeable 2,000 to a mere 57, through 3-D-printing technologies.
XEV announced in its press release that it has already received 7,000 orders from Europe alone. XEV intends to start mass production of the 3-D-printed electric vehicle in the second quarter of 2019.
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