Stratasys has teamed up with Kor Ecologic Inc. to develop the world's first car to have the entire body created by 3-D printers. Every part of the car's exterior, even the glass panels, is made on Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus 3D Production Systems. This use of 3-D printing eliminates the need for tooling, machining, and handwork during the manufacturing process. Stratasys' website also states that this process of automaking saves time when last minute design changes are needed. The car's code name is Urbee.

Kor Ecologic has engineered this two passenger, hybrid automobile to run on electricity and liquid fuel with the possibility of getting over 200 miles per gallon. The development of Urbee has been documented by the Discovery Channel and a full scale prototype was displayed at this year's SEMA show in Las Vegas. Urbee is estimated to cost between $18,000 and $21,000.

3-D printing makes the design process much more efficient. It offers on the fly prototyping without the cost and time of making molds. My company currently uses a Stratasys Dimension FDM printer. When presenting a concept to a client, we send them a hand primed and painted FDM model to give the client an idea of the scale and feel of the product. This makes the probability of the client approving the project increase exponentially.

Sunscope's 3-D Printer