MakerBot CALLUM Aston Martin
Automotive and lifestyle product design firm CALLUM is using MakerBot’s METHOD X 3D printing system to produce prototypes, tooling and end-use parts for the limited-edition Aston Martin CALLUM Vanquish 25 by R-Reforged.
CALLUM was founded in 2019 by automotive designer Ian Callum CBE, whose car designs include the original Aston Martin Vanquish, the Ford Puma and the Jaguar I-PACE, which won the World Car of the Year award for 2019. He set up his product design company two years ago with the motivation to combine ‘cutting-edge design with real-world functionality’ across a range of high-end automotive, travel and lifestyle products.
Its first public project is the Aston Martin CALLUM Vanquish 25 by R-Reforged, which is set to feature more than 350 engineering, material and design changes from the original Vanquish in a bid to make the classic car ‘more practical and relevant.’ Just 25 of the newly designed vehicles will be produced, each featuring several 3D printed end-use components, such as brake ducts, produced with the METHOD X. The company has been using additive manufacturing technology since it was founded, harnessing its capabilities to produce end-use parts at low volumes, as well as its proficiency in rapid prototyping and tooling components.
In the MakerBot METHOD X, the team at CALLUM has highlighted the platform’s ‘diverse’ selection of engineering-grade materials, its capacity to output strong and dimensionally accurate parts and its ability to facilitate part iterations in hours rather than days and weeks.
“METHOD X completely changes the game, enabling the team to print parts on-demand in a matter of hours,” commented Adam Donfrancesco, Technical Director at CALLUM. “This will not only eliminate the need for external vendors, resulting in considerable cost savings, but it will also help to accelerate production times for our vehicles by allowing is to reiterate design ideas very rapidly and take more design risks with fewer consequences.”
“[Additive manufacturing] is a technology that hugely excites me,” added Ian Callum, Design Director at CALLUM. “MakerBot’s METHOD X 3D printer is our first true step into industrial-grade additive manufacturing, and we are excited to push the boundaries of automotive design and production with this technology. For specialist engineering and design companies such as CALLUM, versatile machines such as METHOD X offer a way to enhance craftmanship and find new, efficient means to solve design, manufacture and production challenges. As the world looks for more personalisation and bespoke products, CALLUM is now better placed to support its designers and, ultimately, its customers.”
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