The moment 3D printers became mainstream people realized that they could create whatever they wanted in the safety of their home. And by whatever they wanted I mean cars, too.
You shouldn’t think now that suddenly everybody is 3D printing cars at home. For that, people still need quite a lot of money (for the printer, the plastic filament and other requirements) and a lot of creativity. After all, the schematics for 3D printed cars are not readily available, right? The individuals who are determined to print their own car need to design it on their own computer. Such is the case with Ivan Sentch, who decided to print his own Aston Martin. No matter how costly this ends up being, it’s still a fraction of the real thing’s price.
Ivan Snetch, who resides in New Zealand, isn’t printing his dream car on any sort of professional device. Instead, he makes use of a desktop 3D printer. This might have started as a game, but I believe that it has turned into a real challenge. Ivan sets up the device to print a part while he’s at work and yet another part at night, when he’s asleep. Knowing that with each part he’s getting closer to the car of his dreams most probably forces Ivan to work even harder and to grow even more impatient with each passing day.
All this started back in December 2012. Now, Ivan’s 3D printed Aston Martin is 72% complete, so it will take a few more months to finish the project. However, when everything will be done, I’m sure that Ivan will be more than proud of himself.
There are a few things I’m concerned about, though: assuming that this car will be finished and that most of its parts are 3D printed (I have no idea how Ivan plans to set the car into motion), will the authorities allow such a car to hit the streets? How does it score in terms of safety? If it had a real engine (presuming that the 3D printed parts could even support the weight of a real engine, in the first place), would its emissions be normal? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, and that’s not going to happen until Ivan finishes printing his dream car.
If you liked this post, please check this sturdy 3D printed hybrid car and Stella, the first solar-powered family car.
