Add to favorites

#Industry News

LM Industries opens 3D printing microfactories, 'the first digital OEM'

Local Motors, the Arizona-based company known for its 3D printed vehicles, has announced the formation of LM Industries Group, a technology-enabled manufacturer focused on mobility products headquartered in San Francisco.

Anyone with an interest in 3D printing and cars will already know about Local Motors, the company that uses additive manufacturing technologies to create innovative, almost futuristic vehicles. From the Strati, which holds the honor of being the first 3D printed car, and to the Olli, a self-driving bus, Local Motors owes much of its success to 3D printing technologies. Now, Local Motors is offering their experience to other companies through LM Industries.

"Mass manufacturing is a relic of a past era. We're in the middle of a mobility revolt where current modes of transportation are not sustainable and do not match up with rapidly changing consumer preferences," said LM Industries CEO and co-founder John B. Rogers, Jr. "We can't keep producing products the same way we've been accustomed to. The world is moving too fast for traditional manufacturing to keep up. LM Industries is on a mission to transform mass manufacturing to micro-manufacturing in order to match the new pace of technology and quickly changing consumer needs."

LM Industries describes itself as “the world’s first digital OEM (original equipment manufacturer).” It plans to apply technology such as 3D printing to create and assemble products in small batches and boasts that it can take one from concept to reality in under one year. LM Industries will serve as the new parent company of Local Motors and its sibling company, Launch Forth and it will combine co-creation, Launch Forth’s design apparatus, technology, and microfactories into one modern manufacturing process to build high-quality, low-volume products.Its efficiency allows products to be upgradeable like software - iterated regularly and fluidly to match rapidly changing consumer preferences.Currently Local Motors is working with the United States Marine Corps on a modular logistics vehicle and an unmanned cargo system, says the company.

The Modular Logistics Vehicle (MLV) project will result in the design of a new vehicle system that allows for modular adjustments to improve the Marine experience and their corresponding operations. Similarly, the Unmanned Cargo Delivery project focuses on improving the safety and efficiency of moving cargo for Marines across areas all over the world. Delivering supplies on the battlefield can be one of the most routine activities a Marine does. A small unmanned cargo delivery system will save lives and could operate on land, air, sea, underwater or even underground. It will be critical to quickly deliver small packages that can seamlessly transit these diverse terrains.

LM is also working with insurance company Allianz on a wheelchair that can be customized to match any activity level or style choices. The new wheelchairs will be inclusively designed with accessibility in mind. Allianz is partnering with Local Motors to deploy Olli in multiple cities. Now Jean-Marc Pailhol, Head of Global Market Management & Distribution at Allianz SE, joins the LM Industries board to help guide future product development and encourage strategic global partnerships.

“If Amazon created a new ecosystem to monetize the long tail of ordering things, LM Industries has created an ecosystem to monetize the long tail of making things,” said LM CEO Rogers. “Ecosystem shifts like this come once in a century.”

LM Industries opens 3D printing microfactories, 'the first digital OEM'

Details

  • Arizona, USA
  • Local Motors