Vintage Ac Delco Handheld Tachometer Speed Rpm Gauge on 2040-parts.com

Bentley uses 3D printing to prototype new designs [w/Video]

3D printing is changing the way the world makes things by helping people of all disciplines to enhance and refine their ideas cheaply, quickly and effectively.  Bentley is the latest carmaker to utilize the technology to fabricate and prototype different parts to see how they'll look and work on the finished design. Using 3D printers, designers can produce parts from the exterior and interior such as the grille, tires, headlamps and door handles as well as combine different types of contrasting materials, ranging from hard plastics to rubbers of different tensile strengths.  The technology allows the user to create a solid 3D object straight from a digital model by printing layers of material on top of each other. This process rapidly decreases the delivery time, as parts can be printed overnight, and allows designers to be more creative in their ideas because of the reduced cost. Bentley isn't the first carmaker to use 3D printing technology. Audi announced last year it was beginning to prototype vehicle parts using 3D printers.

Lexus LF-A still on the cards

With the car world in turmoil, and buyers running scared of high performance cars, most of the car makers around the world are shelving their high-end projects until things settle down. Honda has announced that it has put its NSX replacement on ice (although it is apparently still going to show it at Detroit) and other manufacturers are concentrating on their frugal products. But Toyota is taking a different tack.

Drayson electric racer breaks four speed records

A BRITISH electric racing car has set four new land speed records on the same day. The Drayson Racing prototype racing car, which is powered solely by electricity, set new benchmarks for speeds over one mile and one kilometre with a flying start, plus a new standing quarter-mile acceleration record. The fourth record, subject to ratification, is a British land speed record for cars of any type driven by their wheels over one mile from a flying start.