3D Printed Auto Parts Marketplace Seeks Funding On Indiegogo

A man from Boone, North Carolina wants to create a marketplace for 3D printed car parts and is using Indiegogo as a way to crowdfund his grand idea.

Landon Crist recently graduated from Appalachian State University. He claims to have an incredible passion for cars, one that began at childhood, when he used to work in the family-owned body shop. He wants to create a 3D printing marketplace – a place where designers, 3D printers, car mechanics, professionals and amateurs can upload and download car parts ready to be printed on 3D printers, desktops or otherwise. In such a marketplace, designers and mechanics would have the ability to create and offer each other designs, as well as exchange ideas and discuss those designs.

“I envision a day when your car is wrecked, and the crash data is sent to a body shop and they already have the parts printed before the car arrives,” writes Crist in his Indiegogo presentation. “No more waiting for weeks to get your car back because the parts haven’t shipped yet. Insurance companies will love this idea as well. Think about the money they will save by the lower cost of fixing cars.”

The suggested name for his 3D printing endeavor is ‘Addendum Auto’.

Crist wants to create and offer car parts for automobiles that are more than 14 years old, because currently patent laws protect automotive manufacturers for just 14 years.  This means that after those years have passed, designs are free to be printed as well as manipulated for 3D printing. Not only does he want to create a marketplace, but he also wants to create a warehouse, buy 3D printers, and ship the parts off to people who need them.

Crist is asking for a massive $250,000 from Indiegogo backers. He says that he wants to start off big and “start our website and build the inventory to reach a mass audience of consumers.”  He then plans to develop a unique marketing and advertising strategy for his company. Designing the auto parts (and the CAD files that go along with them) will take the greater share of the investment however.

Other companies already 3D-print car parts and this technology has been proven in the past. Many parts from car dashboards, to duct outlets, to truck fenders have been printed and used in the past. The Ford Motor Company also uses 3D printing to work on their prototypes, and recently, the Bloodhound Car has used a steering wheel and nose piece which have been 3D-printed as well.

Are you considering helping Crist out?  What do you think of his idea for a automobile parts marketplace?  Let us know in the 3D printed car parts forum thread at 3DPB.com.