Project Chameleon: Europe's first 3D printed car

Swindon-based additive manufacturing firm Scaled has unveiled Project Chameleon, a fully 3D-printed car, which they claim is the first four-wheeled electric vehicle of its kind in Europe.

The British manufacturer claims the car has a top speed of 72 km/h (45 m/ph) and was created during the lockdown as an example of how quickly and efficiently functioning vehicles could be 3D printed.

All aspects of the production chain were produced in-house at the company's own facilities.

Bob Bradley, Co-founder and Technical Director of the firm told The Engineer that when the company first started the project, there were no suitable 3D printing machines on the market.

He said: “There was the Big Area Additive Manufacturing machine that was marketed by Cincinnati over in the States, but it’s a giant and had a £1m price tag.

“We did actually start seeking investment on the basis that we would acquire one, but it ended up that using a robot rig and our own in-house gantry systems was a much more sensible option.”

Nearly two years ago, the world's first 3D printed motorcycle was unveiled in Germany by BigRep, in which every component for the bike was the result of 3D printing.

It was created using the fused filament fabrication process, involving a feed of continuous thermoplastic material filament through a heated, moving printer extruder head.

Project Chameleon was made in partnership with several innovative partners. It uses high-end 3D printed thermoplastics from LEHVOSS and the plastic chassis was optimised by stochastic software provided by engineering firm Rafinex.

The materials provided by LEHVOSS ensure the vehicle can carry the loads required when driving, at a 1:1 weight-to-payload ratio of just over 100kg to make it as safe as possible to drive.

They also revolutionised the production line by having every aspect of the vehicle's production handled on a single manufacturing cell.

The test-focus nature of its manufacturing ensures the final product is robust and is suitable for application in the real world, where impacts can be difficult to predict.

Mr Bradley added: “Thirty-three per cent of the vehicle included a recycled PA6 from a UK firm, Hills Premier Polymers. In the future, it will definitely be possible to up the amount of circular plastics in use for this type of thing – something we are very excited about.”

The vehicle is powered by a Lynch electric motor and weighs in at 150kg.

The team believes that moving away from mass production in favour of customisation means that specialisation will become more affordable.

They believe this will lead to manufacturing and prototyping being done using the same technology, leading to large-scale 3D printing and boosting the industry in the public's consciousness.

They claim the design and manufacture of vehicles of this kind is more cost-effective than traditional methods.

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