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Bentley uses 3D printing to prototype new designs [w/Video]

3D printing is changing the way the world makes things by helping people of all disciplines to enhance and refine their ideas cheaply, quickly and effectively.  Bentley is the latest carmaker to utilize the technology to fabricate and prototype different parts to see how they'll look and work on the finished design. Using 3D printers, designers can produce parts from the exterior and interior such as the grille, tires, headlamps and door handles as well as combine different types of contrasting materials, ranging from hard plastics to rubbers of different tensile strengths.  The technology allows the user to create a solid 3D object straight from a digital model by printing layers of material on top of each other. This process rapidly decreases the delivery time, as parts can be printed overnight, and allows designers to be more creative in their ideas because of the reduced cost. Bentley isn't the first carmaker to use 3D printing technology. Audi announced last year it was beginning to prototype vehicle parts using 3D printers.

GM's next eco-concept car

By Ben Oliver Motor Industry 03 July 2007 06:17 General Motors will unveil a European concept car built on its radical new E-Flex platform at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. The concept will feature radical styling, with a diesel engine acting as a generator for the concept’s electric motor. And General Motors is believed to be collaborating with urban electric scooter manufacturer Segway; the unnamed concept may be able to carry one or more of the £4000, gyroscope-controlled devices for use in town once you’ve parked.

Vettel and Webber make it a 1-2 for Red Bull in China

Red Bull's Vettel and Webber celebrate their 1-2 in Shanghai [ad#ad-1] This is the most topsy-turvy start to a Grand Prix season in many a year. First we have a rookie team – Brawn GP, which didn’t even exist a few weeks ago – taking the lead and winning the first two races of the season. And now, in Shanghai at the Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull has achieved its first ever F1 win with a stunning 1-2 by drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber After two days of high temperatures and sunshine the Shanghai Grand Prix set off in a procession behind the safety car in torrential rain, and stayed that way for the first eight laps.