3D printing gives classic cars new life
It sounds like an odd combo: classic cars and 3D printing, but the two are working very much in harmony around here thanks to Freshmade 3D. "We can do this," said Freshmade 3D president and COO Christopher Tomko.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - It sounds like an odd combo: classic cars and 3D printing, but the two are working very much in harmony around here thanks to Freshmade 3D.
"We can do this," said Freshmade 3D president and COO Christopher Tomko. "We can give you a perfectly functioning metal part that's either been enabled by 3D printing or literally 3D printed."
That's the focus for Freshmade 3D. Suddenly, if you're working on a 50 year old car you don't have to go hunting for a 50-year old part.
"If you're looking for a part, a lot of times you can find something. But it's not necessarily something you want on your car," said Tomko.
"It could be a rusted part that we start with. Then we have to start putting together a little bit of our knowledge to figure out how to get it to our actual part geometry," said chief technical officer Brett Conner.
They've partnered with Hahn-Vorbach, a restoration company near Butler, guys that have been doing this for years. Using 3D printing technology, you hear a couple buzzwords: cheaper and faster.
"The big deal is, you're really cutting out that machining process," said Paul Vorbach, president of Hahn-Vorbach. "You still have to design things and you still have to do some finish work and chrome it and stuff like that. You just don't have to make ten thousand of these things to recoup your machining costs."
"In the traditional sense, you're usually waiting years to get the parts. Now in this case, you can get it in a few weeks," said Conner.
"The digital data that you can achieve now with 3D scanning allows these machines to produces these parts to such high tolerances and to specifications that came out of the factory," said Freshmade 3D CEO Rich Wetzel.
While classic cars are the bread and butter of the business, this summer they're going significantly outside the box. Freshmade 3D is creating a life-size Donald Trump bobblehead that will be on display at the Republican National Convention this summer in Cleveland, as well as a Hillary Clinton version for the Democratic National Convention.
"I think it's a cool opportunity for us to showcase Youngstown and showcase Freshmade 3D. It really is cool. You'll have thousands of people looking at the presidential candidates as we make them. I think the other cool thing is just seeing it come together. Actually pulling some of the parts out and seeing a life-size person that's been 3D printed," said Conner.
So whether it's politics or classic cars that rev your engines, the 3D printing industry in Youngstown is making a difference.