Stronger and Much Lighter Car on the way??

[Mini-itx2010]

http://news.discovery.com/tech/print-body-armor.html

 

It sure sounds cool that our cars in the future may be organic in material rather than traditional steel.....

 

 

[Deathism]

IMO,in car manufacturing the lighter weight can be a double edged sword.

 

But nevertheless it's still a breakthrough.

[Mini-itx2010]

IMO,in car manufacturing the lighter weight can be a double edged sword.

 

But nevertheless it's still a breakthrough.

 

Perhaps cars in the future can be more aerodynamic. Uses downforce instead of bodyweight. Then use active suspension that could adjust the ride height and stiffness automatically. Its going to be interesting.

[Deathism]

agreed. well at least the luxury sedans can cut its weight down, boosting it's power to weight ratio.

 

A very diverse application. But i guess it also depends on how easy to produce the material and fabricate the intended parts/products.

[XALmoN]

interesting, now i wonder if it could be made to be very impact resistant, doing away with dangerous airbags.

[Lation]

Imagine a >1 tonne lambo doing <300km/h on the road.

[Ishiwgao]

IMO,in car manufacturing the lighter weight can be a double edged sword.

 

But nevertheless it's still a breakthrough.

 

well that's true to current material, cos lighter weight means less material so it'll be worst (even though you get faster speeds). but if a harder and stronger material is used that is lighter too, then I guess you'll be alright cos you're not sacrificing much (if any at all) safety.

 

but then again. this is true only to impact collisions. It may be worst if you ran off a slope cos lighter car means fly furthur

[Mini-itx2010]

I think it may be possible to incorporate such materials into the cabin to strengthen it while using normal steel or even aluminium for crumble zones. This will save weight as improve safety. Cause certain areas have to be rigid and cannot crumble (eg. cabin roof or sides). Even if your whole car chui in and accident, if the cabin is intact, there is a very good chance the passengers will survive. If the cabin crumble, then they may well be killed.

 

Thats what racing cars are doing. HAving a strong cockpit (reinforced with bars etc) but soft outer body skin.

Edited October 31, 2010 by Mini-itx2010