Posted on 10/04/2019 10:54:53 AM PDT by Red Badger
Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A Colorado physicist is putting his scientific expertise to a practical purpose -- using a 3D printer to build a Lamborghini with his 11-year-old son.
Erie resident Sterling Backus and his son, Xander, 11, started work on their full-size, working model of an Italian supercar -- specifically the Lamborghini Aventador -- when the boy asked his father if it was possible.
"One day I said to him, hey can we build one of those?" Xander Backus told WCNC-TV.
Sterling Backus said his background as a "gear head" has thus far been more helpful than his training as as a physicist.
The car won't be a proper Lamborghini, it contains a Corvette V8 engine and various parts procured from a junkyard, including Porsche components, but Backus said it will look like the real thing.
The father and son recently posted video of the vehicle going for a short drive test.
The duo said they hope their project will inspire more kids to get interested in STEM education.
"Okay you may hate math, you may not like science, you may not like language arts, you may not even like art, but it all comes together with this one project," Xander Backus said.
I bet it will spend more time on the road than in the shop
it’s a kit car- sure it’ll look cool when finished, but still liek you say- it’s a corvette- not a lambo
Ooh, ooh, remember the FiberFab Avenger?
That’s what I wanted, back in the day.
Ended up buying a new 1970 Fiat 124 Spyder. I was in the Navy, bought it with my poker winnings from my last cruise.
I lost it two years later, in a long weekend of poker in Lake Elsinore.
I remember that! Saw one for sale a few years back, just a body no engine or transmission. Of course VW engines and chassis are/were fairly cheap................................
Cheaper then a used one.
I couldn’t afford the INSURANCE!................
Perhaps I can build a Duesenberg.
Who needs these common flat racecars that don’t do anything practical.
I don’t think it beats Lincoln Logs. That’s actual building. Honestly this is letting a puter and vat of liquid do most of the work.
On this car I would assume you just get liability. You can print your own parts after all.
Yeah, in Florida it classifies as a ‘homebuilt’ and would have to be inspected by the DOT before it would be given a title and a registration.................
You don’t come across as knowing much about 3D printing (or the design work that goes on before the printer starts up), or assembling the parts you’ve designed and printed, or about carbon-fiber layup, or about mating all of that with the metal parts needed to make a car body into an actual car.
They had a box of ammo next to their 3D printer! Oh noes!
What kind?.......................
All I caught in the quick shot of it in the video was that it was Winchester. If they have a second box, that’s hundreds of rounds!!!! /media hysteria
It’s at about 50 seconds into the video in post 5.
Can’t identify..................
Actually, yes I have an idea. And due to the article (not general title of “building it with 3D”), yes, I know there would be mating it with other parts and many involved processes - esp. since it’s doubtful there would be a very large vat for private hobbyists to use.
In my day, it was called rapid prototype.
But it’s not quite the same as working metal or even fiberglass and putting all THAT together.
But yeah, the reality is much more involved than the simplistic title suggests.
BTW - design work: scanning in blueprints or even parts of a well-known car and transferring it to CAD. Yes, tweaking will have to go on as “technology” is never perfect, but basically all that design has been done by some Italians already.
And again, this is a very topical comment; not opining on the actual details. It’s a glib assessment.
I want to have them print up a Tucker Torpedo or a Duck-tailed Dusenberg. Or a 1932 Cord. A car with real lines!
I have a 3D printer that is 300mmx300mm×400mm. This takes ABS plastic which can warp and release some severe fumes. I print in PLA which will melt in sunlight but warps less
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