As Tractus3D is an active member of the 3D printing community, we share our ideas, projects and successes with enthusiasts around the globe. Earlier this year our CTO Daniel van Mourik was chatting with one of the employees of Count’s Kustoms – the body shop featured on the History Channel hit show ‘Counting Cars’.
To those who are not familiar with the show, the star of the show is Danny “The Count” Koker and the show focuses on his shop, Count’s Kustoms. Danny and his crew of employees buy, restore, customize, and sell various classic cars and motorcycles.
A major part of the show showcases Danny cruising around Vegas with Kevin (his best friend and right-hand man) and chasing down classic cars or bikes. When Danny sees a vehicle he wants, whether it’s at an auto auction or at a roadside diner, he does all he can to acquire it. If successful, Danny and his team then work to restore and modify the cars and motorcycles to quickly flip them for a profit. From classic cars like Thunderbirds and Corvettes to sidecar motorcycles and everything in between, if it has wheels, the Count’s Kustoms team can make it look spectacular.
During the chat, it turned out that the team at Count’s Kustoms particularly ‘Horny’ Mike’ (named after his obsession with putting on horns on almost anything he makes), are real 3D printing fans and have come up with awesome ideas for customizing their bikes and cars with 3D printed parts. They only could not find a 3D printer large enough to create these extraordinary items.
Besides the capability to print large parts, there was also a great need to find the right equipment capable of printing smaller parts. A lot of car parts are no longer made by the manufacturer and have to be reproduced. With the T1250, Count’s Kustoms was able to print the caps of an old Cadillac, which are no longer available.
The initial chat has led to something great: Tractus3D is now partnering with Count’s Kustoms to create these 3D printed parts and finish off special projects that have been on the shelf for some time but were lacking the large machinery to get it started.
In the week of June 17th, two new Tractus3D printers have been delivered to Count’s Kustoms at their shop in Las Vegas. Our CTO flew over himself to explain all about the operation of the 3D printers and help the team to get started with turning the creative ideas into 3D printed car parts!