Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Two Chinese firms can 3D print an electric car in three days, sell it for $10K

Bruce Brown
By
Bringing LSEV to life - The 1st Mass Produced 3D Printed Car

Shanghai-based 3D printing materials company Polymaker and X Electrical Vehicle Limited (XEV) recently launched a small car that breaks traditional automotive manufacturing molds. XEV’s base is in Hong Kong with a design studio in Italy and manufacturing in China.

Recommended Videos

Polymaker co-founder and CEO Luo Xiaofan describes their vehicle, the LSEV, as the first ‘real’ mass produced 3D-printed project. “By saying real, I mean there are also lots of other companies using 3D printing for production. But nothing can really compare with the LSEV in terms of the size, the scale, and the intensity.”

So it’s great to see 3D printing ramping up to mainstream manufacturing and production, but what about the car?

Related
1 of 6
lsev 3d printed electric car 00
LSEV 3D Printed Electric Car
LSEV 3D Printed Electric Car
LSEV 3D Printed Electric Car
LSEV 3D Printed Electric Car
LSEV 3D Printed Electric Car

Approximately 98 inches long, 51 inches wide, and 59 inches high, the LSEV is smaller than the 106-inch by 65-inch by 61-inch (LxWxH) Smart ForTwo.

While powertrain specifications are not disclosed, XEV and Polymaker claim the 992-pound LSEV will have a 43 mile-per-hour top speed and a 93-mile maximum operating range.

The LSEV is intended for the global market with direct Customer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) manufacturing, which means customers will contact the factory to order the car. Imagine what it would be like to buy a car with no dealerships, no Tesla-esque automobile stores, and without even brokers or buyers’ representatives.

XEV designed the LSEV to consist of only 57 components. By comparison, conventionally manufactured vehicles have more than 2,000 components and weigh from 2,200 to 2,650 pounds, according to Polymaker.

The two-seater LSEV’s chassis, seats, and glass components are the only visible parts not produced with 3D printing. XEV states it takes just three days to build one car, including printing components and assembly, according to Interesting Engineering. The 3D printing materials include enhanced nylon, polylactic acid, and rubber-like thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

The current plan calls for first LSEV deliveries to customers in Europe and Asia in April 2019 for a list price of $10,000. XEV reports  7,000 orders for the tiny electric car, with most hopeful customers residing in countries in Europe.

Its 43-mph top end won’t put the LSEV on U.S. highways. Like the electric Eli Zero neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) — also priced around $10,000 — if LSEVs hit American shores they’ll most likely see service in urban or contained community areas.

Electric skateboards are already here and community delivery vans are on the way. With small electric-powered rides like the LSEV and the Eli Zero, city dwellers may soon lack any rationale for owning conventional automobiles.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
Contributing Editor
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
Qualcomm’s long-awaited second-gen 3D Sonic fingerprint sensor is 50% faster
qualcomm 3d sonic sensor second generation ces 2021 2nd gen

Qualcomm wants to make its in-display fingerprint sensor a little bit more seamless. Its first-generation Sonic Sensor was introduced a few years ago, and at the time offered a decent experience -- but since then, has been overtaken in terms of speed and performance by competing optical sensors. Now, Qualcomm has finally launched a new, second-generation 3D Sonic sensor with big improvements.

The new sensor is 77% larger than Qualcomm's original 3D Sonic Sensor, measuring in at 8mm square, compared to the original's 4mm by 9mm. In other words, you'll be able to place your finger on a larger portion of the screen, making the overall experience a little more seamless.

Read more
Wild new 3D printer makes parts by sending titanium particles supersonic
3D printing metal technique

Regular layer-by-layer 3D printing is old news compared to a new additive manufacturing technique developed by an international team of engineers. They recently demonstrated an innovative method for printing 3D metal objects by firing a powder that’s composed of tiny titanium particles, at supersonic speed, so that they fuse together in any interesting way.

This “cold spray” approach takes place below the melting temperature of the metal. When the particles hit the substrate at high enough velocity, they deform and adhere to it. The efficiency of this adhesion increases as the particle velocity increases. Without the high-speed impact, metal powders would simply not adhere well.

Read more
GPS-tracking, 3D-printed decoy eggs can help root out illegal poachers
Decoy turtle eggs

Poachers pose a major threat to sea turtle nests by stealing eggs to sell in what has become a rampant black market trade in certain parts of the world. Conservation efforts to stop this have, to date, included patrolling beaches for would-be poachers, as well as removing the eggs and placing them in a secure hatchery so that they can be incubated in safety.

Conservationists at the nonprofit organization Paso Pacifico in Nicaragua and researchers from the U.K.’s University of Kent have another idea, however -- and it involves 3D-printed decoy eggs, boasting built-in GPS trackers.

Read more