The Winnipeg Art Gallery has recently hosted this
year’s TED Conference. It is organized by a non-profit to disseminate ideas
“Worth Spreading”. TED = Technology, Entertainment, Design. One of the eye
and ear catching presentations was from KorEcoLogic on their exciting hybrid
car (1). The BBC was there and has published a detailed report (2).
Just in concept, the car is exciting as a
two-seater with a 200mpg fuel consumption figure from its combination of
batteries and small bio-ethanol engine used to recharge the batteries in
addition to solar cells. Speeds of 60 – 70 mph are sufficient for non-freeway
use. With a light stainless steel chassis, it should last a long time, and the
acceleration might be quite exhilarating.
All that is interesting, but the “just one last
thing” piece is that the beautifully streamlined body is printed out on a
3D-printer!
Printing something the size of a sports car is
exciting and is the future of a lot of manufacturing. Only the number of units
needed for a particular production run have to be printed at the time. Changes
can also be made simply by downloading the new design, so re-tooling is
minimized. Perhaps, I should make it clear that it is body panels that are
printed and not a whole body.
The current plan in Manitoba is to be selling these
cars in 2014 at between $10k to $50k. Let’s hope they succeed and get to the
lower end of the price range. It will make going to the store a pleasure. I can hardly wait.
