Explore Topics:
AIBiotechnologyRoboticsComputingFutureScienceSpaceEnergyTech

What Will They 3D Print Next? Inside My Trip to Local Motors

Peter H. Diamandis, MD
May 15, 2014

Share

Last week, I flew my Cirrus to visit Jay Rogers and his team at Local Motors in Phoenix.

Jay showed me their plans to 3D print an entire car in just one day at the Int'l Manufacturing & Technology Show in Chicago this September. The electric drive car will be built out of carbon fiber reinforced thermo plastic (CFRP), which has a strength-to-weight ratio twice that of aluminum.

Fireside chat with Jay Rogers and Peter Diamandis at Singularity University, 2012

Fireside chat with Jay Rogers and Peter Diamandis at Singularity University, 2012

Jay's goal is a car with less than 20 parts, and a car that is massively customizable. You want one seat? Or 5 seats? Electric or gas drive? Instead of having Detroit decide what options you get, you can decide on everything and then hit "Print." Presto, you've got a personalized car.

If that isn't exciting enough for you, consider that in China last month, a company called WinSun Decoration Design Engineering 3D printed 10 full-sized houses in a single day.

They used a quick drying concrete mixture composed mostly of recycled construction and waste material and pulled it off at a cost of less than $5,000 per house.

Instead of using, say, bricks and mortar, the system extrudes a mix of high-grade cement and glass fiber material and prints it, layer by layer. The printers are 105 feet by 33 feet each and can print almost any digital design that the clients request. The process is environmentally friendly, fast and nearly labor-free.

So what does that mean?

Today the manufacturing business is $10 trillion globally with a massive shipping and storage infrastructure.

I serve on the board of 3D Systems, one of the leading companies in the industry, and I'm shocked every day by the massive innovation we're seeing in 3D printing.

We're now able to 3D print in 200 different materials, from titanium to rubber, plastic, glass, ceramic, leathers and even chocolate.

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

My point here is that change is coming. And 3D printing is going to be following the 6 D's I teach at Abundance 360:

rally fighter

Mindset Matters: It's time to change your mindset. These disruptions are happening now. Rather than read about them online or watch them on TV, be proactive. Seek them out. Which products in your life could be 3D printed? Which are already being 3D printed? Where there is change, there are incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Be an explorer. Ask yourself, "I wonder if I could 3D print that," and sketch it out on a napkin.

These technologies are empowering all of us to be innovators. Join the movement.

- Peter

P.S. As always, if you want to learn more, we are having some amazing conversations in my Abundance 360 community. To learn more, head here.

Diamandis is the founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which leads the world in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions. He is also the executive founder and director of Singularity University, a global learning and innovation community using exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges and build a better future for all. As an entrepreneur, Diamandis has started over 20 companies in the areas of longevity, space, venture capital, and education. He is also co-founder of BOLD Capital Partners, a venture fund with $250M investing in exponential technologies. Diamandis is a New York Times Bestselling author of two books: Abundance and BOLD. He earned degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering from MIT and holds an MD from Harvard Medical School. Peter’s favorite saying is “the best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”

Related Articles

Miniaturized CRISPR Packs a Mighty Gene Editing Punch

Miniaturized CRISPR Packs a Mighty Gene Editing Punch

Shelly Fan
Lightning strike spreads across a stormy sky

DeepSeek Crashed Energy Stocks. Here’s Why It Shouldn’t Have.

Vanessa Bates Ramirez
A long spiral staircase with railing

Scaling Up: How Increasing Inputs Has Made Artificial Intelligence More Capable

Veronika Samborska
Miniaturized CRISPR Packs a Mighty Gene Editing Punch
Biotechnology

Miniaturized CRISPR Packs a Mighty Gene Editing Punch

Shelly Fan
Lightning strike spreads across a stormy sky
Energy

DeepSeek Crashed Energy Stocks. Here’s Why It Shouldn’t Have.

Vanessa Bates Ramirez
A long spiral staircase with railing
Artificial Intelligence

Scaling Up: How Increasing Inputs Has Made Artificial Intelligence More Capable

Veronika Samborska

What we’re reading

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

SingularityHub chronicles the technological frontier with coverage of the breakthroughs, players, and issues shaping the future.

Follow Us On Social

About

  • About Hub
  • About Singularity

Get in Touch

  • Contact Us
  • Pitch Us
  • Brand Partnerships

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2025 Singularity