3d printing never fails to shock or amaze. There is always something new and interesting to be heard in the world of 3d printing and science. It comes as no surprise that science and 3d printing share a good relationship with one another, they have been able to successfully 3d print rockets functioning human hearts and bones after all.
It comes as no surprise that someone has decided to try to build their own sports car. One physician by the name of Sterling Backus has been working on 3d printing a Lamborghini Aventador.
Sterling Backus started building a completely 3d printed Lamborghini Aventador in the privacy of his own home as a personal project and a gift for his son who was very into cars and asked his father if he could make him a model version after being inspired by the video game Forza.
It didn’t take long for Backus’ little model car project to transform into a fully functional luxury sports car.
Sterling Backus spent roughly only $20,000 on building the car. In comparison to a real Lamborghini, it is extremely cheap; making it about 95% off the retail price.
Why buy an expensive sports car when you can just print one yourself?
Sterling wanted to use advanced technology to create a high-quality replica of the car, but at the same time, he needed to keep to a budget.
“We decided that we would use advanced technology to build the car. However, we needed to do it on the cheap,” He went on to say,
“This led us to research different automotive construction techniques. We wanted the car to be safe, so we decided on steel for the frame. In the end, after choosing 3D printing for most of the body of the car, we needed it to be strong.”
The majority of the printed car was created using a 3d modelling software called Solidworks. The body panels, interior parts, air vents, headlights and taillights are only some of the things that he used Solidworks for.
Who knew that all you needed to own a luxury car was a 3d modelling program and a decent 3d printer? Well, mostly anyway.
For all the things Backus couldn’t print which honestly, wasn’t a lot at all, he would just purchase off eBay. He was lucky enough to be able to find genuine Lamborghini parts and even a genuine Corvette engine.
One thing most car builders and enthusiasts are aware of when it comes to building a car is the importance of the specific materials that go into the manufacturing of any said vehicle.
The materials which are used that go into making the models of cars need to be able to withstand extremely high temperatures and be able to handle the stress the car undergoes when burning up the asphalt.
In order to learn everything he needed to in order to make his sons dream a reality, he turned to YouTube where he watched many videos about carbon fibre skinning and vacuum moulding. It was because of the many YouTube videos that Backus decided that he would encapsulate the 3D-printed parts in carbon fibre Kevlar for extra strength.
Backus amazingly made the Lamborghini originally as a personal project for him and his son. Amazingly enough, he was able to avoid any copyright-related lawsuits by not using any official logos and altering the design a little bit. He wanted to keep the basic design while also adding his own personal touch to it.
“The parts’ design is based on the Lamborghini Aventador, but we have changed each panel significantly, to add our design flair.”
It seems that in this day and age, as long as you own a 3d printer and you are relatively tech-savvy, it truly is possible to create and design literally anything you want.
