What do you get when a transportation design company partners with a 3D printing company? A crazy-efficient hybrid car who's body is printed, rather than manufactured.
And oh by the way, it's real.
Kor Ecologic and Stratasys brought a production proof-of-concept model of their Urbee hybrid car to the SEMA show in Las Vegas last week. Autoblog Green says,
While technically a three-wheeler, KOR EcoLogic says that the Urbee will meet all automotive crash standards.
With seven lead-acid batteries, an electric motor that sends power to the front wheels, a small range-extending gasoline engine and rear-wheel steering, the Urbee boasts the definition of an unconventional drivetrain. KOR EcoLogic says that the company will have a small fleet of testers out and about soon, with full production landing sometime around 2014.
How does it work? A Stratasys press release says,
Urbee is the first prototype car ever to have its entire body 3D printed with an additive process. All exterior components - including the glass panel prototypes - were created using Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus 3D Production Systems at Stratasys' digital manufacturing service - RedEye on Demand.
Check out more info on Stratasys' Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing process:
Why is FDM so eco-friendly? TreeHugger has Kor Ecologic's reason for partnering with Stratasys and utilizing the FDM process:
"Our goal in designing it was to be as 'green' as possible throughout the design and manufacturing processes. FDM technology from Stratasys has been central to meeting that objective. FDM lets us eliminate tooling, machining, and handwork, and it brings incredible efficiency when a design change is needed. If you can get to a pilot run without any tooling, you have advantages."
GreenPacks has all the specs on the Urbee's projected mileage:
Urbee delivers over 200 miles per gallon on the highway. It is also expected to give an impressive 100 miles a gallon in the city. It can be charged overnight from any standard home electrical outlet. It can also be charged using renewable energy from a windmill or a solar-panel array small enough to fit atop a single-car garage. For combined city and highway drive, the Urbee gives about 150 miles per gallon, costing about 2 cents a mile, which is about 10 percent of the fuel consumed by a typical SUV.
Check out more info about the Urbee and other electric car/hybrid concept X Prize Foundation competitors:
Surinder Saini
said on November 10, 2010