Anyone who has ever worked in an office for very long knows the value of easily being able to quickly print off a document from time to time. Despite the occasional ink run out or paper jam, printers, throughout their vast and fascinating history, have been pretty darn helpful. Now, 3D printing is taking a tool which was predominantly convenient to office spaces and making it universally useful for every kind of manufacturing, from cars to houses to even doctors offices!

While it’s an endless and fascinating topic to explore, here at Carzoos, we’re particularly interested in the role 3D printing will play in car manufacturing, so let’s dive in! Check out a few fun tidbits below.

GM is building 20 new electric and fuel cell car models in the next five years, and they will rely on 3D printing to make it happen. They’ve already made a seat bracket that was lighter and stronger than the original piece not made by a 3D printer. Read the Popular Mechanics article here.

Think big with a brand called Concept Lazer which is working to allow automakers to build test versions of engines and transmissions with the help of 3D printers. The massive machine, called a X LINE 2000R, lets automotive engineers do all kind of amazing things. Read the entire story from Design News by clicking here.

Entire cars have even been created thanks to 3D printers. Here’s a great video Dr. Xiaofan Luo, the CEO of Polymaker, explaining the challenges of mass producing a 3D printed car.

Three dimensional printing isn’t just for new cutting edge ideas either! Porsche is actually using 3D printing to keep their classic and rare makes on the roads. With 3D printing, the company can easily print an example of a hard-to-come-by part. Read the entire article from Drive here.

The 3D printing space is just getting started; much more will happen as the technology advances. We’ll be keeping an eye on the fascinating fearless field and keep you informed. We’re hoping it will continue to Xerox our socks off!