This January 12-15th at the Cobo Center in Detroit 3D printed innovation will be front and center at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), when the inaugural NAIAS Technology Showcase explores the integration of emerging technologies and the automotive industry during the Press and Industry Previews. Many of the forward thinking technologies displayed will impact “connectivity, automation and efficiency in the next generations of vehicles.” Of course this means 3D printed vehicles.
Attendees will be able to ride along in the world’s first full-size, working 3D-printed car, the Strati. As 3DPI’s David Sher reported, Italian automotive designer Michele Anoèhe won Local Motors’ 3D Printed Car Design Challenge back in June of this past year. The judges chose Michele’s design, and Local Motors will premiere a mid-model refresh of the car after a live demonstration of the three-phased, micro-manufacturing process on the main show floor. They’ve broken down the fun into four phases.
Phase 1: 3D printing the vehicle structure. This will take 40 hours of continuous printing on a Big Area Additive Manufacturing machine.
Phase 2: The vehicle is milled.
Phase 3: The car is rapidly assembled.
Phase 4: Ride in the awesome 3D printed car from the future.
That’s right, attendees will be able to ride in the made-from-scratch automobile on the Innovation Track located in the Technology Showcase in Hall E starting on Monday, January 12, 2015.
Students from the University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Michigan State University, Lawrence Technological University, Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies are participating in a variety of displays and demonstrations involving solar technology, racing performance, fuel mileage efficiency and automotive design.
Tickets are a little steep at $95 per day. They are available online at naias.com.
