Local Motors has been upping its operations and design ideas in recent days. So, it stands to reason that they would need some heavy 3D printing firepower to back up these operations. Now, the company has installed Thermwood’s LSAM 3D printer, the largest composite 3D printer in the world. They plan to use it for the low-volume production of their specialist vehicles.
We previously covered Local Motors and how they sub-branded into LM Industries. In short, the company is looking to disrupt the way the transport industry works with novel concepts.
The Thermwood 3D printer will serve as a key system for the development of the Olli autonomous car. The self-driving car is fully electric and acts as a sustainable public transport system. The LSAM is definitely the best choice for cars in terms of thermoplastic printers. The multi-servo print head weighs over one and a half tons with a massive 40mm extruder. It carries a massive size but can also keep up a pace one wouldn’t expect from a machine of its stature.
Local Motors’ Expansion to LSAM
The video above shows 2 LSAM devices (10’x20′ and 10’x40′) doing their thing. One of the projects that LM will be using the new printer for is the Strati. The Strati was originally printed on the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) technology by Cincinnati Incorporated. While that printer was large in its own right the LSAM printers are bigger.
The LSAM devices are unique, not just for their size, but also for how much they can do. Thermwood describes it as a “dual gantry additive manufacturing machines which both print and trim parts on the same machine“. The machines can stretch to about a 100 ft, and thus the parts it produces can match that volume as well.
Among there new projects, LM industries is involved in crowd-sourcing, mass transit vehicles and even a project with the Marine Corps. With that level of growth they naturally had to up the ante in terms of production capabilities as well. So it’s only fitting they would opt for one of the biggest machines on the market.
Featured image courtesy of Thermwood.
