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There’s no question that the SLS AMG Electric Drive is faster than most EVs. However, Mercedes-Benz wants to prove that the car is fast in any category — and it just broke a Nurburgring record to underscore its point. Merc’s 751HP clean machine recently ripped through the track’s Nordschleife section in 7 minutes and 56 seconds, beating a production EV record set last year by Audi’s R8 E-tron. While that lap time won’t rival the absolute EV record, let alone those of faster conventional cars, it puts the electric SLS firmly ahead of its peers. That may be all that matters for buyers picking up their cars this month: when you’ve dropped half a million dollars on a new ride, some bragging rights are in order.

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Source: Daimler

As we know it, 3D printing is usually confined to small-scale projects like headphones. NASA is ever so slightly more ambitious. It’s using a closely related technique from Concept Laser, selective laser melting, to build elements of its Space Launch System on a pace that wouldn’t be feasible with traditional methods. By firing brief, exact laser pulses at metal powder, Concept Laser’s CAD system creates solid metal parts that are geometrically complex but don’t need to be welded together. The technique saves the money and time that would normally be spent on building many smaller pieces, but it could be even more vital for safety: having monolithic components reduces the points of failure that could bring the rocket down. We’ll have a first inkling of how well laser melting works for NASA when the SLS’ upper-stage J-2X engine goes through testing before the end of 2012, and the printed parts should receive their ultimate seal of approval with a first flight in 2017.

Continue reading NASA building Space Launch System with laser melting, adapts 3D printing for the skies (video)

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NASA building Space Launch System with laser melting, adapts 3D printing for the skies (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz has already committed to bringing the SLS AMG E-Cell gullwing to dealers in 2013, but we’d advise holding back on taking out a second mortgage to pay for it until you’re done reading. The Netherlands’ De Telegraaf hears from an unnamed spokesperson that there’s enough interest to make a roadster version of the EV supercar. What action the automaker takes depends on sales of the hardtop: if it’s clear more people want an open-air experience, that’s what will happen. The electric motor layout is easily transferred to a roadster, the representative says. If that E-Cell variant becomes a reality, Audi might want to hurry up and build a production-grade e-tron Spyder before Mercedes claims all of the (very niche) German electric roadster market for itself.

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Mercedes-Benz said to be exploring SLS AMG E-Cell in roadster guise originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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