The idea of building a car to your exact specifications is closer to becoming reality thanks to entrepreneurs in Chicago.
The world’s first 3-D printed electric car, called Strati, was unveiled the weekend of September 13, 2014.
The car has fewer than 50 parts and is made with carbon fiber plastic on a 3-D printer. It went from concept to reality in about six months. It took about 44 hours to print the car, layer by layer, on a 3-D printer. Then the non-printable parts such as the engine, lights and glass windshield were added.
The creators say car is customizable to accommodate specific needs of the buyer.
“Because you can literally print the car any way you want, if your family goes from two people to three–with a child, you trade in and recycle the center part of your car and all the components that outfit the family. Whatever you can imagine is what this process can entail,” said Jay Rogers, whose company was part of the team that developed the engineering process to manufacture the car.
Strati’s top speed is 40 miles per hour, and it can travel about 120 miles on a single charge. Prices will start at $18,000 and could go as high as $30,000.
The car was unveiled at the International Manufacturing Technology Show at Chicago’s McCormick Place.