Because technology tends to drive growth, the pace of invention and innovation over the past century has increased exponentially. Particularly in the automotive industry, much of the innovation has related to economies of scale. Being able to reduce the cost of both innovation and manufacturing products makes bringing to market new ideas much more affordable. This is just one of the reasons that microfactories are changing the face and the future of automobiles.
Microfactories and 3D Printing Technology
The power of our own personal supercomputers and access to big data now makes design and global collaboration easier than ever. Beyond this, accessibility to manufacturing is seeing a shift thanks to the advent of 3D printing technology. Microfactories are small local factories that allow “manufacturing-as-a-service” so that both new and proven ideas can be produced to scale.
This microfactory and 3D printing technology is already being used in the automotive industry and by hobbyists. Automotive parts and components have been created with 3D printers for several years. In 2015, a company called Local Motors created a stir at the Detroit Auto Show when they printed an entire electric car, called the Strati, on the show floor in just 44 hours. Local Motors estimates that each microfactory creates about 100 jobs and reduces transportation and distribution costs by as much as 97%.
Creating the Cleanest Automobiles
Microfactories and 3D printing bring much more to the table than just lower manufacturing costs. The move towards electric vehicles in the past decade illustrates a desire for cleaner and more energy-efficient vehicles. While electric and hybrid vehicles are cleaner overall, it’s been found that much of the damages to the environment are happening elsewhere along the lifecycle of the vehicle. There is damage being done along the supply chain, through manufacturing, delivery, and all the way down to the final landfill costs.
Divergent 3D, the makers of the first 3D-printed supercar, are using a unique building system that radically reduces the materials used on a vehicle. The company understands that how we make vehicles has much more to do with saving energy than how the cars are run. The company creates a 3D-printed aluminum chassis, called a node, which weighs less than 90 percent of the average vehicle chassis, costs less to produce, and less to operate.
The Future of Microfactories in the Automotive Industry
Local Motors, the company that built the Strati, is poised to be on the forefront of the microfactory revolution with respect to the automotive industry. The company has just purchased two Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) systems, which it plans to add to its microfactories in the U.S. Local Motors currently operates four microfactories in the United States and expects to open 100 internationally in the next ten years. Customers will be able to visit a local microfactory, where they will help design their own vehicle and then it will be produced on-site. This co-creation and build program merges the showroom and production plant, which also reduces costs and lead time for vehicle innovation and manufacturing.
While microfactories don’t promise to mass-create automobiles on the scale of major automakers, this isn’t their goal. The model significantly reduces costs, carbon footprint, and gives customers the ability to tailor designs to specific customers and markets.