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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.

Audi plans rival to BMW X6, design chief says

Audi will launch a rival to the BMW X6 and may add a challenger to the Bavarian automaker's X4, a top Volkswagen executive told Automotive News Europe. Walter de' Silva, design boss at Audi parent Volkswagen Group, confirmed that Audi has signed off on plans for the X6 rival. He declined to say when the car would arrive.

Tesla opens its patents for everyone to share EV knowledge

By Michael Karkafiris Motor Industry 13 June 2014 10:43 Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and one of the most talked-about personalities in the automotive industry, announced today that his company has opened all of its patents to make way for the competition to catch up and promote electric mobility for a wider audience. Open-sourcing your patents is a rather unusual strategy in the automotive world but Musk says that ‘Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal.