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ORNL Showcases Life-like 3D Printed Shelby AC Cobra

ORNL Manufacturing 3D printed the legendary Shelby AC Cobra

At the 2015 Conférence des Nations Unies sur les Changements Climatiques (UN Conference on Climate Change), which takes place in Paris, France, manufacturing division of Oak Ridge National Laboratories presented what they believe is a watershed moment for the future of manufacturing.

ORNL Manufacturing demonstrated a 3D printed version of legendary Shelby AC Cobra, printed using an all-metal process. The organization used several different printers to achieve a life like look and feel. By polishing the metal, they ended with the same ‘experience’ as a conventionally manufactured sheet metal would look like. Leather seats were not 3D printed though, but pretty much everything else was.

We’re not on site to check the feeling ourselves, but from the picture above, it looks as real as anything else. Given that 3D printing, or ‘additive manufacturing’ is becoming a mainstream, being used for the most complex tasks (3D printed parts of jet engines, for example), there’s no denying that possibilities are becoming increasinly limitless.

The world of manufacturing is changing indeed.