From Idea to Reality

Imaginarium India’s success story of making India’s first electric hypercar, the Shul, happen and how!

When Chunky Vazirani designed and executed his electric hypercar concept, he knew traditional prototyping wouldn’t make the cut. As he explored various 3D printing service bureaus in Mumbai, he chanced upon Imaginarium India Pvt Ltd and realized it could meet the quality and expertise level that was required to bring his idea to life.

Challenges

The Shul, as opposed to many others that came before it, is a concept car designed for function, performance, and aesthetics rather than manufacturability. This made it possible for the Shul to gain in terms of aerodynamics and introduce new elements such as side view mirror cameras. However, designing on software was one thing, realizing it was a totally different ball game.

Although aware that additive manufacturing was the tech-nology with which it was possible to print almost anything one imagined, Vazirani had his fair share of doubts – Which technology would be the best to print the Shul’s parts? Could the designs be printed? What would be the post-printing process needed? Would it be feasible and practical to 3D print the parts? And most importantly, who could answer all these questions?

Solution

With the wider acceptance of the technology from a significant number of players in the market, Vazirani was able to shortlist a few and try his luck. Visits to a few service bureaus with tall claims soon left him with unusable 3D printed parts, a lighter pocket and the same cluelessness regarding the feasibility of the project.

At Imaginarium, Vazirani, at first, got his design iterations printed in entirety in multiple scale models. Happy with the output, he consulted the company experts who not only helped him choose the parts that were feasible to 3D print, but also gave him an insight into the technology, the material, and the post processing as per his quality requirement. The Shul now had its 3D printed fins, side view mirror cameras, logos to be displayed on the car, and fenders using high-end HP multijet fusion and SLA technologies, giving it all the perfect sturdiness and quality. The post processes carried out on the parts helped the Shul maintain its look and feel, making it one of the most hassle-free print and plug operations.

Why 3D Printing?

Traditionally, prototyping has not only been expensive, but it has also been one of the most error prone areas of product development for most industries. If the Shul had gone through the traditional way of manufacturing its prototype, it would have required multiple vendors for material sourcing, hand tooling the mould, processing the mould for casting, casting, and post processes. With 3D printing, the two-week process was reduced to two days with accurate, finished parts at a much lesser cost.

Why Imaginarium?

Replying to which, Nishant Shah, Director, Imaginarium India, says, “We, with an experience of over a decade, have been consistent in our results and by now, industry players trust us to seek our advice.”

“Our team of experts is always at our clients’ service to evaluate their projects, identify their requirements and suggest the right approach. But, most importantly, we ensure they never have quality-related issues. Our clients including Mr Vazirani can vouch for it,” he adds.

The HP MultiJet Fusion 3D Printers create production grade parts

If the Shul had gone through the traditional way of manufacturing its prototype, it would have required multiple vendors for material sourcing, hand tooling the mould, processing the mould for casting, casting, and post processes.

---

---