• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




ORNL, Local Motors agree to pave way to world’s first 3-D printed vehicle

Posted at 8:25 am February 3, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Local Motors and ORNL on 3-D Printing

A new partnership between Local Motors and ORNL will explore vehicle design and construction using 3-D printing technologies. The project will make use of equipment at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, such as the large-scale additive manufacturing machine operated here by ORNL’s Peter LLoyd.

Local Motors Inc. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed a new partnership to develop and deliver technology to produce the world’s first production 3-D printed vehicle.

The cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, between Local Motors and ORNL will explore ways to make vehicle construction more efficient—including by lower production time, costs, and part count—and raise standards for control, safety, aesthetics, and mechanical flexibility.

“The primary tool in this drive for efficiency is a combination of material science and cutting-edge advanced manufacturing techniques that are both additive and subtractive,” an ORNL press release said. ORNL is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory system.

“By invoking the principle of open-source, this partnership—and future efforts like it—will drive a true paradigm shift in hardware product development and automotive manufacturing technologies,” said Jay Rogers, co-founder and chief executive officers of Local Motors. “Just as exciting as the vision of delivering the first direct digital manufactured car is that we will be engaging future consumers to contribute and evangelize its creation. We are living in a time when speed to market trumps slow-going protectionism. Local Motors’ open development platform is what delivers this very speed.”

The partnership will make use of DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility located at ORNL, which focuses on numerous forms of additive, subtractive, and direct digital manufacturing, the press release said. Its goal is to help industry adopt new manufacturing technologies that reduce life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions, lower production costs, and create new products and opportunities for high-paying jobs.

“ORNL prides itself on ‘solving the unsolvable’ and ‘making the unmakeable,’” said Lonnie Love of the lab’s Energy and Transportation Science Division. “This partnership will help push the envelope on emerging technologies, such as large scale additive manufacturing, and help accelerate the growth of manufacturing in the United States.”

Rogers said: “We expect the result of our partnership to be an indisputable win for open source design and the development of complex mechanical devices. The entrepreneurial nature of the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and Oak Ridge National Lab is an inspiring example of this nation’s renewed commitment to leadership and innovation in manufacturing.”

ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit http://science.energy.gov.

DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility was established at ORNL by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. For more information, visit http://energy.gov/eere/.

Filed Under: Business, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories Tagged With: 3-D print, 3-D printed vehicle, cooperative research and development agreement, DOE, Energy and Transportation Science Division, Jay Rogers, Local Motors, Lonnie Love, Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Science, ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy, UT-Battelle

Advertisements

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Business News

Natural gas rates will rise, expected to drop when prices decline

Natural gas rates will increase for Oak Ridge Utility District customers because of weather-related price increases and higher transportation costs. Rates are expected to decrease when weather-related spikes … [Read More...]

Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-6-Feb-11-2020

Planning Commission to discuss district that would allow motorsports park

Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (File photo by John … [Read More...]

Council to discuss fatal police shooting, Gateway Project

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge of a proposed sign along South Illinois Avenue/Pellissippi Parkway (State Route 62) The Oak Ridge City Council this evening will discuss a fatal police shooting in August and this … [Read More...]

TVA Clinch River Site

For members: TVA could test new nuclear reactors in Oak Ridge

The Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. The road running from bottom to top on the right (east) side of the Clinch River connects to Bear Creek Road in southwest Oak Ridge. Highway 58 is off to the top … [Read More...]

Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-6-Feb-11-2020

Council to consider zoning district that could allow motorsports park

Part of the site where a motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) The Oak Ridge … [Read More...]

More Business

Recent Posts

  • TVA conducting maintenance at Bull Run
  • Basketball: Girls, boys play for district championships
  • Natural gas rates will rise, expected to drop when prices decline
  • Lady Wildcats play in district semifinal game Friday night
  • Planning Commission to discuss district that would allow motorsports park
  • City has second public meeting on new entrance sign
  • Council to discuss fatal police shooting, Gateway Project
  • Hear from ORNL scientists who worked on Perseverance mission
  • Bienvenue named first executive director of Oak Ridge Institute
  • Breakfast with Legislators resumes Monday

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today