We’ve seen 3D printing technology used for cars before, but never in a way like this. Artist 3D SANAGO used a 3D pen to make himself a Porsche Taycan body for an RC car, and it even has functioning lights. However, contrary to a regular 3D printer, which makes a model with a series of layers, he chose to do it with a set of “body panels” instead, leaving the inside hollow.
3D SANAGO starts by making wireframes of each part of the car using blueprint drawings. He then joins the pieces by melting their corners together, and adds structure to the frame with more lines running across each panel. After he is done making the body, he uses circular motions to completely fill in the surface and ready it for the next step: smoothing.
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To smooth the body, he uses a soldering iron, heating the plastic to allow for spreading, but not enough to compromise the car’s shape. The next step is painting, but before that can happen, the car needs to be sanded. He takes a power grinder to the body, making sure to not miss any spots, then sands it with increasingly fine grits of sandpaper until the surface is nice and even.
For the next step, 3D SANAGO coats the body with a layer of putty to make it even smoother, then sands it again to finish the surface. For detailed parts of the car like the lights, mirrors, and bumper trim, he makes the pieces separately and glues them on.
See Also: Porsche Bringing Entry-Level Taycan Stateside, Starts Under $80,000
Finally, we get to the main event: painting. 3D SANAGO begins by laying down a coat of primer. He then adds the green paint, and follows up with a clear coat. To top it all off, he adds a LED system to create the working lights, as well as the windows, badging, and panel gaps.
The whole process is actually quite impressive, and you can watch the whole thing for yourself in the video that follows.