The manufacturer of the world’s first 3D printed supercar has received the North American Technology Innovation Award.
Divergent 3D has produced the chassis and bodywork of its futuristic looking Blade on a 3D printer. In doing so, it has unlocked a potential construction method that could change the boutique car industry.
制造会影响碳足迹
Entrepreneur Kevin Czinger concentrated on producing a lightweight car with a low carbon footprint, but he wanted to achieve that through manufacturing savings.
通过基于节点的底盘，该公司基本上使用了连接碳纤维管的铝制横括号，因此该公司生产的汽车仅重1388磅。这是用传统方法制成的最可比的跑车的一半。它也可以在本地印刷，而不是在世界范围内生产并发货。
Hypercars go hybrid, but is that a good thing?
Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren and now Bugattihave adopted hybrid powerplants in their range-topping supercars, but the Blade is a refreshing alternative that Czinger argues tackles the real problems facing the sportscar industry.
它由700bhp的涡轮增压发动机提供动力，该发动机以压缩的天然气或天然气运行，因此这是一种新颖的双燃料方法，这意味着刀片确实确实在市场上脱颖而出。它也很快。Divergent 3D声称它将在2.2s中达到60英里 /小时，这是几乎所有事物的比赛。
The California-based company has promised to democratize the car industry and put its node technology out into the open so small start-ups can use it. Czinger contends that this simple chassis structure, which weighs just 46kg in the Blade, can be adapted to create saloons, trucks or executive cars with ease.
“We have got to rethink how we manufacture, because — when we go from 2 billion cars today to 6 billion cars in a couple of decades — if we don’t do that, we’re going to destroy the planet,” Czinger said.
Batteries come at a price
混合动力汽车返回惊人的油耗图s, but producing the car and the batteries is hugely damaging in environmental terms. Disposing of these complex Lithium Ion batteries when they reach the end of their lifespan is also a problem we’ve yet to deal with on a grand scale. It’s a can the industry is kicking down the road and hoping that technology provides a solution.
Divergent’s plan may be ambitious, but it is also a realistic plan that could help reduce the carbon footprint of the entire car industry by designing globally and printing locally.
北美技术创新奖旨在表彰Divergent 3D的“开发和利用影响新产品和应用程序功能和客户价值的新技术的独特方法”。
奖项面板印象深刻
The judging panel at Frost & Sullivan audited the company and scored it on a number of different factors, including the technology attributes and the potential future business value. It was deeply impressed with the node-based system that is known as the Divergent Manufacturing Platform, scoring the company a 9 and 9.5 out of 10 respectively.
法官说：“ Divergent 3D的高级底盘体系结构可以轻松地部署在汽车和其他应用中，以优化性能，提高能源效率并减少生命周期的排放。”“ Frost＆Sullivan的独立分析清楚地表明，该技术将通过降低制造和组装成本来提供良好的客户价值，并增加其投资回报率。
“它的技术成就已获得了不同的3D Frost＆Sullivan 2016年北美技术创新奖，该创新是汽车行业的结构制造奖。”
到目前为止，本地汽车一直是3D打印汽车的口号，但这是一家精品制造商，为利基观众提供服务，而Strati看起来很粗糙。
Divergent 3D从超级跑车开始，但这是将整个事物主流化的一种方式。看到它如何发挥作用将很有趣。
