The EDAG Group is a large German company who provide numerous vehicle manufacturers with engineering assistance and a range of services including factory, process and plant development, automation engineering and product cost management. They don’t just deal with automakers either, and have worked with the aerospace, commercial vehicle and rail industries.
So when they come up with a crazy, futuristic floating concept vehicle, it’s not quite so irrelevant as you might think. They’re just looking way into the future, using the extensive knowledge they already have to try and predict the future of manufacturing.
The EDAG Genesis will make its debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. It’s not really supposed to showcase a particular vehicle, more an engineering concept, the idea that a component, module, or even a complete, one-piece vehicle body could be produced in one single production process. The simplest way to put it, is 3D printing an entire car.
The shape of the EDAG GENESIS concept is based on the bionic patterns of a turtle, which has a shell that provides protection and cushioning and is part of the animal’s bony structure.
The shape of the EDAG GENESIS concept is based on the bionic patterns of a turtle, which has a shell that provides protection and cushioning and is part of the animal’s bony structure.
For the EDAG GENESIS concept the company looked at fused deposition modelling (FDM). Unlike other current technologies, FDM makes it possible for components of almost any size to be produced, as there are no pre-determined space requirements to pose any restrictions. Instead, the structures are generated by having robots apply thermoplastic materials. Complex structures are built up layer by layer in an open space – without any tools or fixtures whatsoever. By introducing endless carbon fibres during the production process, it is also possible to achieve the required strength and stiffness values. Even though industrial usage of additive manufacturing processing is still in its infancy, the revolutionary advantages with regard to greater freedom in development and tool-free production make this technology a subject for the future.
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