Light-weight, durable cars are the next frontier of 3D printing. Meet Urbee, the hybrid that, according to its inventor, will be the VW Bug of our century.
Imagine an economy car with only 50 individual light-weight but durable component parts that has the potential to reach 70 mph and make a cross-country trip from New York to California on just one 10-gallon tank of fuel.
Urbee, Manitoba-based Jim Kor's invention, may just fit this model.
The car's design includes a metal internal combustion engine, an electric motor and frame. Polymer-based, the latter, is 3D-printed over a 3-month period.
Kor is using RedEye's 3D printing facilities in Eden Prairie, MN to produce the car.
According to Kor, 3D printing provides design and budget flexibility because it reduces the number of component parts while not compromising complexity of form. Unlike sheet metal, which comes in uniform thickness, printed thermoplastics vary their thickness to provide strength where needed, while reducing the overall weight of the car's body.
FULL STORY: 3D printing's next level: economy cars (w/ video)
How New Federal Rule Could Impact EV Adoption
An adjustment to federal pollution limits will require a greater share of low-carbon vehicles, but the rule also gives automakers some flexibility in deploying electric and hybrid cars.
Hybrids Regain in Popularity Amid EV Cost and and Charging Concerns
After their sales dropped thanks to the introduction of all-electric vehicles, hybrid gas-electric cars are seeing a renaissance among consumers.
Hybrid Car Sales Fail to Meet Predictions
Over a decade ago, automakers predicted that every new car would be a hybrid by 2020. Why were they so off the mark?
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service