University of Michigan Students Advance Solar Car Performance with Z Corporation...

University of Michigan Students Advance Solar Car Performance with Z
Corporation 3D Printing and Scanning

Designers of Newly Unveiled 'Infinium' Quickly and Affordably Create
Prototypes, Molds and Vehicle Models

BURLINGTON, Mass., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Infinium, a space-age solar panel
on wheels and the University of Michigan's ultra-sleek contender for the
upcoming World Solar Challenge, is a product of advanced engineering
technologies like 3D printing and 3D scanning from Z Corporation.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040630/ZCORPLOGO )

The university's solar car team uses a ZScanner(R) 700 to inspect prototypes
against digital designs to ensure accuracy for wind tunnel testing. The
scanner also captures the engineering data from solar car prototypes from
throughout the team's 20-year history.

The team uses a ZPrinter(R) multicolor 3D printer to create prototypes of
parts like its ergonomic steering wheel and motor housing. The prototypes help
the team conduct form, fit and functional testing before production. The team
also "ZPrints" molds for lightweight carbon fiber parts and car models for
display.

"Each time we use the ZPrinter to create a part prototype, mold or car model
we save weeks and thousands of dollars by not sending the work out to a
service bureau," said Steve Hechtman, 2009 project manager, recent graduate
and four-year member of the University of Michigan Solar Car Team. "Each time
we use the ZScanner we know we're capturing precise engineering data to drive
critical design decisions. We're working faster and smarter, and Infinium
shows it."

The team will take Infinium, unveiled June 5, to the World Solar Challenge, an
1,800-mile race across Australia in October 2009. Co-sponsored by Z
Corporation, the team is a perennial high performer: it won the North American
Solar Challenge (a 2,400-mile race from Dallas to Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
five out of nine times and has finished as high as third in the World
Championship three times. Twenty years after a group of University of Michigan
students won the GM Sunrayce USA, the precursor to the North American Solar
Challenge, the team remains the most visible and successful solar car team in
North America.

Advanced technologies help Infinium perform
Five times more aerodynamic than a Corvette with contours shaped by a
supercomputer, Infinium employs space-grade gallium arsenide solar panels that
convert sunshine into power that is stored in highly efficient lithium
batteries. The batteries are capable of carrying the car 300 miles in pitch
dark. Their efficiency helps the car recharge on sunny days even while being
driven. Infinium has a top speed of 87 miles per hour and weighs only 400
pounds.

The university's engineering approach exemplifies the standardization of 3D
scanning and printing in advanced R&D organizations. A 3D printer creates
physical models from 3D CAD data much as a document printer creates letters
and presentations from office application data. A 3D scanner is one way of
gathering data for 3D printing.

"We're proud to sponsor the University of Michigan Solar Car Team, and we
strongly support the important work students are doing for the school as they
advance their career prospects," said Z Corporation CEO John Kawola. "Even
more importantly, the team is using 3D technology -- CAD and Z Corporation
printing and scanning -- to uncover efficient renewable energy solutions for
the future."

About Z Corporation
Z Corporation makes products that enable users to capture, edit, and print 3D
data with unprecedented speed, ease, versatility and affordability. These
products include the world's fastest high-definition 3D printers -- machines
that produce physical 3D models from digital data in multiple colors -- and
uniquely portable 3D scanners -- handheld machines that digitize 3D surfaces
in real time. Z Corp. technology is enabling a wide range of applications in
manufacturing, architecture, civil engineering, reverse engineering,
geographic information systems (GIS), medicine and entertainment. For the
latest news and information from Z Corp., visit www.zcorp.com.

Contact: Julie reece Ed Marshall
Z Corporation Beaupre & Co. Public Relations
+1 781-852-5058 + 1 603-559-5816
jreece@zcorp.com emarshall@Beaupre.com
WWW.ZCORP.COM www.beaupre.com

SOURCE Z Corporation

Julie Reece of Z Corporation, +1-781-852-5058, jreece@zcorp.com; or Ed
Marshall of Beaupre & Co. Public Relations, +1-603-559-5816,
emarshall@beaupre.com