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New Zealand Man 3D Printing An Aston Martin DB4
3D printing is popular than ever before and has people printing all sorts of objects ranging from down right crazy to life saving articles. However, large 3D printed objects are still few and hard to come across. falling into that rare category is this 3D printed Aston Martin.
The project has been taken up by a New Zealand programmer, which when complete, will be a completely functional Aston Martin DB4. Pretty cool isn't it? The man has catalogued the entire project from start in his own blog, which provides an interesting insight into his project. Here we have put down a summary for our readers to read.
First 3D printing project
Ivan Sentch is a resident of Auckland, New Zealand who has in the past built replica cars, including a Ferrari 250 GTO. But this is the first time he has ever tried his hands with 3D printing.
The car
The car being built is a 1961 series II Aston Martin DB4. In case you are wondering, let us tell you that it is only the body of the car which is 3D printed. But it could also incorporate 3D printed interiors.
The donar car
As for the functional parts, such as the engines, suspensions, transmission etc., Sentch will rely on a used Nissan Skyline GTS25T, which he says, would cost him about $4,000 NZD (INR 1,91,337).
The 3D printer
Coming to the 3D printer, it is a 2nd generation Solidoodle model that comes for $499 (~INR 30,000).
Image: A partially completed passenger door
The amount of plastic required to 3D print the body of the Aston Martin was estimated to be 64 kg. After running a few calculations Sentch's initial estimate came up to $2250 NZD or INR 1,08,294 for the plastic.
This is how the hood looks
Sentch's method involves printing small parts of the body and then putting them together to form single units such as the bonnet, the boot lid, the roof and so on. These are then assembled together to end with the complete body.
The software
The digital designs are generated using Autodesk 3DS Max 2011 designing software, which are then fed to the printer.
The boot
Sentch began with the boot lid first, back in December 2012. The blog reveals the various challenges he faced as he progressed and the the solutions he came up on the go. In one instance, he even had to 3D print a replacement part to repair the 3D printer itself.
The latest image
The last post on his blog was on 26. July 2013, by which time he had completed printing 72% of the body. The car itself is still a long way from completion as he notes. We'll follow Sentch's progress and eagerly wait for the completed Aston Martin DB4.
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