“Take Materials Science 101. You won’t regret it.”
Newly 3D printed metal could be used by Tesla to produce all-electric vehicles with just a few massive parts, thanks to two MIT students.
Announced very recently, the new sort of steel was created by MIT undergraduates and their graduate student mentor in Germany, not for the construction of the cars but for the die-casting molds that stamp them out in just a few distinct pieces.
MIT junior Ian Chen and Kyle Markland managed to produce a 3D-printable steel alloy inspired by a manufacturing approach called Giga-casting, popularized by carmaker Tesla and used to assemble the all-electric Model Y.
Chen and Markland’s project is inspired by Gregory Olson, the Thermo-Calc Professor of Practice at MIT, who teaches Computational Materials Design.
Olson is a world-renowned expert in computational materials science, which employs computer modeling and simulation to understand and design new materials. His methodology was used by Apple to develop the Apple Watch, and it piqued the interest of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Continue reading… “Tesla now can produce cars with just a few massive parts with MIT’s innovative 3D-printed metal”