The Little Car Company accelerates vehicle production with +90 3D DIGITAL FACTORY
The Little Car Company
The Little Car Company produces high quality scale cars in partnership with some of the world’s most prestigious brands. These unique partnerships ensure that the vehicles produced are officially licensed product of the brands and each vehicle is expertly manufactured in the UK.
Based on the iconic Tamiya Wild One radio-controlled car first introduced in 1985, The Little Car Company introduced the Tamiya Wild One MAX in summer 2023 and made it available as a full-scale vehicle!
Ralph Tayler-Webb describes his experiences with +90 3D DIGITAL FACTORY;
Why +90 3D DIGITAL FACTORY?
“+90 3D DIGITAL FACTORY were chosen for this project in part due to my recommendation. At my last employer +90 produced a prototype body for a high-performance car. As well as making visually and geometrically accurate panels, these needed to withstand the rigors of a testing, including ergonomic, component packaging and aerodynamic, both for downforce and validating cooling system duct performance. Utku and the team used their years of experience along with sample testing to guide the design and body engineering development. Lead times and pricing were also very impressive and competitive respectively.”
Material
“+90 3D Digital Factory manufactured the prototype body panels for the Wild One MAX. We selected an FDM process with ASA/ABS with a carbon fibre reinforcement added to the b-surface for rigidity. Panels were then finished and primed ready for paint. Metallic inserts can be added to these parts, and from my previous experience with +90 they stand up to very tough testing!”
Where were the produced parts used?
“The panels made by +90 have been used on prototype Wild One MAX vehicles and have performed well under some harsh testing. At the other end of the scale, these panels, when painted, have also been perfectly suitable for use in various journalistic activities including publicity photoshoots and films.”
Would you recommend +90 3D DIGITAL FACTORY?
“I would gladly recommend the +90 3D DIGITAL FACTORY team for their service and the quality of the product, as I did to The Little Car Company. Utku Demirkan who assisted us throughout these projects is a gentleman with a broad knowledge of the processes involved. He and the team at +90 can be trusted with all aspects – from DFM body engineering guidance to careful packing and necessary fixture design for shipping. We continue to explore their other services internally and I would also encourage other partners to discover what they have to offer.”
How Additive Manufacturing has benefited your business?
“Having seen ill-shapen and structurally poor examples in the past, FDM additive manufacturing vehicle body panels was something I initially had my doubts about. The results from +90 3D DIGITAL FACTORY with the carbon fibre reinforcement, however, have a great finish, remarkable geometrical tolerance and sufficient stiffness for our requirements.
Small companies like ours don’t have the clay studios of the big OEMs for full scale visual prototyping. So additive manufacturing processes give us a rapid and cost-effective alternative. We also need to be agile within our short project timelines and getting panels that can enable vehicle testing at an early stage in the programme help us to maintain that efficiency in our workflow.”