Chameleon: Europe's First Working 3D-Printed Electric Vehicle

A team of British engineers has developed the first working electric vehicle made from recycled 3D printer materials. The Mario Kart vehicle can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour and can be used for several uses, such as picking up passengers from the train or shoppers.

Chameleon weighs 150 kilograms (23 stone) and produces no carbon emissions as it is an electric vehicle. Its size is just one-third of the size of an average car but can only seat one person.

Engineers from the Swindon-based engineering firm Scaled built this 3D printed electric vehicle, a first of its kind in Europe, during the three-month lockdown and spent £10,000, MailOnline reported.

The design of the prototype is customizable so that users can redesign it for different purposes. This vehicle is made from a super-strength recycled 3D printed material. The engineers said that they can produce one electric vehicle every two days, but they have not given an amount yet as to the price of the electric vehicle because it is still under development.

Meet Chameleon: The Working 3D Printed Electric Vehicle

Managing director David Speight said they chose to name the vehicle Chameleon because it is adaptable. They used very large 3D printers to print the chassis and plastic. According to them, this is the first vehicle that they have created.

"The system we use to make the chassis is more adaptable than a traditional car plant where on a line you can only produce one car," Speight said. That means they can design different types and styles of their 3D electric vehicle because it is adaptable.

The 3D printer makes taking the vehicle easy and very quickly that is why similar materials are being used by engineers on the prototypes. Speight added that although many people thought that plastic is not strong enough, Chameleon is proof that it can be used in this way.

He said that the fact that they were able to produce a vehicle printed onto plastic shows that there is enough strength in the material. As of now, Chameleon is undergoing thorough and rigorous testing and so far managed to drive for 30 minutes before it needed to be recharged.

Chameleon's battery is removable to recharge and put back into the vehicle, unlike the traditional electric vehicles that charge directly by just plugging it into a charger.

Speight explained that t took them three months into lockdown to make Chameleon. They worked with a few people during those months and was glad about the result of being able to produce a 3D printed electric vehicle.

Uses of Chameleon Electric Vehicle

Their team does not have plans yet of travelling at far distances as their goal is to create vehicles for short distances as of now. They are still waiting for funding from interested investors so that they can make small batches of the Chameleon just as how they want them.

Moreover, usage plans for Chameleon include a pod vehicle that can transport people from a train station to work on a short journey. It is also for people who had COVID-19 concerns in commuting as protection for passengers.

This idea is also eco-friendly as it can be used instead of cars that produce carbon emissions where most of the time only one person is inside the car and their briefcase.