Local Motors Unveils LM3D Swim 3D-printed concept car

Concept Cars, Technology 13 Nov 2015

At this year’s SEMA show, Local Motors has presented the LM3D Swim, a new concept car that marks another step towards the development of a fully homologated 3D-printed vehicle.

According to Local Motors’ plans, in spring 2016 it will start pre-selling the first cars built using direct digital manufacturing (DDM) – of which 3D printing is a part. The targeted MSRP is $53,000, while the first deliveries are expected in early 2017.

The latest concept follows the presentation of the world’s first 3D-printed car at SEMA last year, and is now moving into testing and development phases.

The LM3D Swim was designed by Kevin Lo, a Local Motors community member who won the company’s Project Redacted challenge in July.

The winning design was chosen by community votes and a judging panel that included former Tonight Show host Jay Leno and SEMA Vice President of Vehicle Technology John Waraniak.

That competition was hosted on Local Motors’ co-creation platform, Open IO, with the goal of identifying designs for the next generation of 3D-printed cars.

Software developed by Siemens, including Solid Edge®, allowed the Local Motors product development team to move quickly from concept to car with the simplicity of direct modeling and flexibility of synchronous technology. SABIC, a world leader in thermoplastic material solutions, provided the materials used to build the body of LM3D Swim.

Local Motors recently partnered with IBM to create interactions between the microfactory, 3D-printed vehicles, their drivers and the outside environment, aqlso through the development and launch of a series of apps and vehicle products to connect, monitor and optimize the driving experience.

All cars in the LM3D series will be built at a new Local Motors microfactory now under construction in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is slated for completion by the end of 2015.

(Source: Local Motors)