VOA常速英语2015--用3D打印技术生产复古跑车

用3D打印技术生产复古跑车

Cars with parts made by 3D printers are already on the road, but engineers are still learning about this new technology. While testing the possibility of printing an entire car, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy recently created an electric-powered replica¹ of an iconic sports roadster.

AC Cobra, also known as Ford²/Shelby Cobra, is an Anglo-American, two-seater sports car, manufactured intermittently³ since 1962. It competed in a number of road races but, because it was so expensive, it never sold in large numbers.

“眼镜蛇”车型，也叫“福特/谢尔比眼镜蛇”，是一款英美联合生产的两座跑车，自1962年以来间歇有所生产。这款车参加了多次公路赛，但由于价格昂贵，从未得到大规模生产。

Attempting to bring it back as a retro sports car, Ford unveiled a modernized⁴ version at the Detroit Auto⁵ show in 2004.

福特公司希望将这款车作为复古跑车重新推出，2004年在底特律汽车展上推出了一款现代化的版本。

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy recently displayed yet another version, this time with electric propulsion and a plastic body printed in a 3D printer.

美国能源部研究人员最近展出了另一款车型，这款车是电动的，车身是用3D打印机打印的塑料车身。

Robert Ivester of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office says the goal wasn't to build a Cobra. Instead, researchers wanted a way to test several things relevant to printing large-scale objects.

能源部先进制造技术办公室的罗伯特·艾夫斯特说其目标并不是生产“眼镜蛇”，研究者希望想办法测试与打印大型物件有关的东西。

“The capability⁶ to balance thermal⁷ loads was an important one, the ability to achieve very, very high-quality, professional-grade surface finish, the ability to custom design around components⁸ that we were going to put in. So, this example has one motor and battery but we could relatively⁹ easily change over to a completely different motor and battery, power train, suspension system, because of 3D printing," said Ivester.

“平衡热负荷的能力是重要的一方面，以及达到非常高质量、专业级别的表面抛光的能力，对我们投入的零件进行定制设计的能力。这款车有一个马达和电池，但有了3D打印，我们可以比较容易地将之改造为完全不同的马达、电池、传动系和悬架系统。”

The flexibility¹⁰ of 3D printing proved to be a great advantage. Ivester says the car was built in six weeks by a group of six people at the Oak Ridge¹¹ National Laboratory, in Tennessee.

3D打印的灵活性已被证明是巨大的优势，艾夫斯特说这款车是由6个人组成的小组在田纳西州橡树岭国家实验室里花了6周时间制成的。

"It’s printed in about six pieces – there's one piece that's the core chassis¹² and mechanical structure. And the front end and the back end of the body were each produced in a couple of pieces that were joined to each other and then bolted on to the chassis," he said.

“它是由六个部分打印成的，一个是核心底盘和机械结构，以及由几个部分拼接而成的车身前端和后端，然后用螺丝连接到底座上。”

During tests at the National Transportation Research Center, the car reached 128 kilometers per hour, with acceleration¹³ of about eight seconds to 100 kmh. Not quite as fast as cars on the road today but respectable. The real value of 3D printing is its speed, and versatility¹⁴.

在国家交通研究中心进行的测试中，这款车达到每小时128公里的速度，能在8秒钟加速达到100公里每小时，并不像如今路上的汽车那么快，但是可以接受的。3D打印的真正价值在于速度和多功能型。

One of the most important advantages of large-scale 3D printing for the automotive industry could be the manufacture of molds and dies for sheet metal car body parts, usually a critical production bottleneck¹⁵.

3D大规模打印对于汽车业来说最重要的优势在于车身钣金部分的模具生产，这通常是制造业中关键的瓶颈。

“With a metal mold they’re going to start from a monolithic¹⁶ metal block and machine away all the pieces that they don’t need. And the finishing process just takes long. So the typical response time for an automotive scale mold is at least nine months. And we can do it in 48 hours with printing," said Ivester.

“有了金属模具，就可以从单片金属块开始生产，切除掉所有不需要的部分，后整理工序比较耗时，汽车模具一般需要至少9周的时间来生产，但用打印技术我们可以在48小时内完成。”

 

Ivester says his department is now researching whether 3D printing of molds and dies could be used to build parts for wind turbines.

艾夫斯特说能源部目前在研究3D打印模具是否可以用来制造风力涡轮机的零部件。

1 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 intermittently   

adv.间歇地；断断续续

参考例句：

• Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学
• The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

4 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。

5 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

8 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

11 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

12 chassis   

n.汽车等之底盘；（飞机的）起落架；炮底架

参考例句：

• The new parts may include the sheet metal,the transmission,or the chassis.新部件可能包括钢壳，变速器或底盘。
• Can chassis and whole-vehicle manufacturers co-exist peacefully?底盘企业和整车企业能相安无事吗？

13 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

14 versatility   

n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能

参考例句：

• Versatility is another of your strong points,but don't overdo it by having too many irons in the fire.你还有一个长处是多才多艺，但不要揽事太多而太露锋芒。
• This versatility comes from a dual weather influence.这种多样性是由于双重的气候影响而形成的。

15 bottleneck   

n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环

参考例句：

• The transportation bottleneck has blocked the movement of the cargo.运输的困难阻塞了货物的流通。
• China's strained railroads already become a bottleneck for the economy.中国紧张的铁路运输已经成为经济增长的瓶颈。

16 monolithic   

adj.似独块巨石的；整体的

参考例句：

• Don't think this gang is monolithic.不要以为这帮人是铁板一块。
• Mathematics is not a single monolithic structure of absolute truth.数学并不是绝对真理的单一整体结构。