World’s first 3D-printed motorcycle
From bridges to shoes to metal parts used in airplanes, 3D printing has revolutionised the ability to create lightweight and affordable parts. Recently, this innovative technology has helped launch the world’s first 3D-printed motorcycle. Built by APWorks, a Germany based subsidiary of French aeronautics firm Airbus, the motorbike is powered by a six-kilowatt electrical engine that can zip from zero to 80kph in seconds. The motorcycle, dubbed Light Rider, features a frame that weighs 6kg, making the midsection of the craft roughly 30 per cent lighter than that of conventional all-electric motorcycles.
APWorks constructed Light Rider’s frame by lacing together an intricate web of Scalmalloy, an aluminium-like alloy powder that forms a solid that is nearly as strong as titanium.
Light Rider uses bionic algorithms to define the organic frame structure using nature’s design principles
