Yes, that’s right! So, when Divergent Microfactories came up with their ‘world’s first’ 3D printed super car – Blaze, it was no great surprise. Another student from Focus Hope had the opportunity to work with engineers from Materialise to learn about designing for 3D printing.If your next car is a 3D printer-generated automobile, then don’t be surprised for this is the new buzz right now and is taking the automotive industry by storm. One student from Detroit Institute of Technology College Prep High School managed to create the car that came in second, quite an accomplishment for one so new to the game. Entrants ranged all the way from veteran RAPID attendees to high school students. It’s easy to see from watching this video just how appealing an outlet the event is for the creativity and energy of members of the AM community. “Not everyone is so lucky to spend a work day racing slot cars…once I tried it out for myself, I realized how fun and competitive it can be.” Charlotte Dalaere talked about the experience on the Materialise blog:

Andrew Rogers from Proto Labs said that “making the body for the slot car competition was a great, collaborative project for us” and other comments from teams around the world echo the sentiment. The completed and printed car designs were the culmination of a yearlong design project which many companies used as a fun addition to their regular work load. After finishing their designs, the contestants used Magics software by Materialise to prepare the car for print.

The vehicles were created using techniques such as stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, direct metal laser sintering, and selective laser sintering and in every material from aluminum to plastic to magnesium – one was even created using all three. Contestants were provided with a file of the chassis and the rest was only as limited as their imagination. This restriction didn’t stifle creativity however but rather seemed to encourage it. The car’s creators were required to create their vehicles using additive manufacturing for all parts except the chassis, motor, axles, and wheels. “Our goal was to put the potential of AM in the spotlight, and showcase how it can benefit design, both functionally and aesthetically and I think our contestants did just this…we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg with regard to the full capabilities of 3D printing.” Materialise’s Managing Director, Bryan Crutchfield discussed the purpose of the event prior to the race:

3d printed slot cars