Airbus subsidiary APWorks 3D Prints ebike

http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/20/airbus-motorcycle-3d-printing-metal/


In part:

The Light Rider is an electric motorbike that weighs just 77 pounds and has a frame like an alien skeleton. Its creator, Airbus subsidiary APWorks, crafted the bike with 3D printing -- but it's not plastic. The hollow frame is aircraft-grade aluminum (this is Airbus, after all) and it takes shape via thousands of thin metal layers produced in a bed of metal powder.

The frame itself weighs 13 pounds, roughly 30 percent less than many existing electric bikes, and its complex shape would be impossible to craft using traditional means such as welding or milling, the AP reports. The Light Rider gets 37 miles per charge.

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Lock, how you manage to post all these awsome finds over all these years amazes me. Kudos, this is one of the best yet.

To all those who may gripe at the list price, some of the ultra - rich will always buy hugely expensive toys , isn't 35kg of expensive metal and rubber a less gratuitous luxury.?

I love it. 35kg is killer. A huge part of the electric revolution is proving that bigger is not always better. That high performance ev's can literally scale all the way to a drive system that fits in your shoe.

Eventually, they should be able to achieve very high strength to weight ratios using internal lattice that resembles bone structure.

its a cross country ebike that you have to control with your belly. Ah nice one Giger.

http://www.gizmag.com/airbus-unveils-3d-printed-motorcycle/43459/

They're selling the first 50 for 2000 euros (about USD$2250) then they're hoping to get north of USD$50K each. Cool looking frame, and less than 80 pounds. I admit I was tempted at $2250, but after taking a closer look... It's supposed to have a top speed of 49MPH... offroad motorcycle tire on the back, mountain bicycle tire on the front... and I think I'd want more solid looking brake discs on a bike going that fast. They seem to have prioritized accelerating over stopping with this design. No thanks.

julesa said:

They're selling the first 50 for 2000 euros (about USD$2250) then they're hoping to get north of USD$50K each. Cool looking frame, and less than 80 pounds. I admit I was tempted at $2250, but after taking a closer look... It's supposed to have a top speed of 49MPH... offroad motorcycle tire on the back, mountain bicycle tire on the front... and I think I'd want more solid looking brake discs on a bike going that fast. They seem to have prioritized accelerating over stopping with this design. No thanks.

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Go re-read that...

They're only making 50 in total, taking €2,000 deposits towards the €50,000 price.

It is a beauty for sure. Cool looking design no doubt. Out of my league and so far out it is not even a dream for me. I would have my clenched fists wrapped around so many new toys before even considering such a bike.

But all them welds kind of took away the coolness of 3D printing.
Anyway 56.000 $. and the 3D bike has more weight then the HPC Revo, with less power. Yet that 3D printed e-bike is more then 4 times expensive.
And the Revo you can ride in the Park, on bike lanes and faster and longer then the 3D bike. With plenty money left for a holiday of hookers and blow.

it's perhaps a good collector item because it's HR Giger. The design is original but the motor weighs 4 kilos on a 35 kilo bike, it definitely requires a motor upgrade, and it's only made for straight lines because you can't lean into the bike and control the centre of gravity, the rider is perched on top. Carbon fibre would be a cheaper and more performant choice of material and easier to mould, it would actually make it worthwhile. If you make a silicon mould, then you can pour carbon fibre resin composite instead of aluminium, and then it's also easier to join the parts. The holes of the bike are actually too big and using voronoi mapping and topology optimization it should be easy to make many kinds of bikes on the same concept... So you would save alot of money if you spend 1/2000 euros on a 3d designer to make the 3d shape, I could almost do it in about a week, and then 4000 dollars for someone to print a 3d and get a professional silicone mould of it... and then the fun begins, you can get heaps of carbon fibre in loose form, mix it with the toughest resin, for about 1000 dollars of materials and that should be enough for 10-20 bike frames. send me one please please i would be very happy.

Avitt said:

julesa said:

They're selling the first 50 for 2000 euros (about USD$2250) then they're hoping to get north of USD$50K each. Cool looking frame, and less than 80 pounds. I admit I was tempted at $2250, but after taking a closer look... It's supposed to have a top speed of 49MPH... offroad motorcycle tire on the back, mountain bicycle tire on the front... and I think I'd want more solid looking brake discs on a bike going that fast. They seem to have prioritized accelerating over stopping with this design. No thanks.

Click to expand...

Go re-read that...

They're only making 50 in total, taking €2,000 deposits towards the €50,000 price.

Click to expand...

Well that makes more sense. They updated the articles since I first read them, and the Airbus web site now has an English version. It wasn't so clear when I first looked.

I wouldn't buy one at $2250, and wouldn't pay $50K, even if it really was designed by Giger (it wasn't).

Didn't know where to ask about this bike but I figured LockH is up to date on even the strangest of bikes so worth a shot.
Pardon for hijacking your thread. Rissaracing.com list the bike as Green Jucier Full Suspension e-bike
Kind of look like a Polaris frame with added rear suspension? Bottom pic the Polaris.

They call it a motorcycle in the story, but it's not - its a mid-drive e-bike (sans pedals)...and it's really cool

https://www.lightmetalage.com/news/industry-news/applications-design/airbus-light-rider-first-3d-printed-motorcycle-aluminum/

I don't know, I think I'll bow to their judgement calling it a motorcycle. It's considerably more powerful than a moped, the old Honda Supercub, etc. And sizeable.

"LightRider" is a bit of an ironic name as its not particularly light for an Ebike at 35kg !
They dont mention how big (heavy) the battery is but there are lots of Ebikes 10kg lighter than that !
I also get a little concerned when they claim to use a "new aluminium alloy" without any details of mechanical properties.
Any new Ebike frame need some serious testing to prove its durability.

[youtube]1ZGMoxr9Xhk[/youtube]

Deutsch sprechen?
[youtube]7bSfV2RYziY[/youtube]

Hey guys,

I'm new here! I'm a 3D printing and electrical motorbikes lover.

Today, I came through an interesting article about large-format 3D printing. It listed some of the massive projects realized using large-bed 3D printers. Two of them caught my attention: the Nera e-motorcycle and Light Rider that's why I decided to share them with you.

Nera is a functional full 3D printed electrical motorbike prototype realized by the German BigRep. Beside its futuristic design, I love the concept behind it. Light Rider has been realized by APWorks using aluminum alloy powder. It weighs just 77 pounds.

What do you think about it? Are you skeptical or would you welcome the possibility to buy this kind of motorcycles in the near future? Let me know you opinions

Source: https://top3dshop.com/blog/large-format-3d-printers

Maybe 20 years from now it will be something other than an incredibly dumbass idea.

Looking pretty and working well are not very closely related concepts. One works better than the other at making pictures of stuff for people to invest in.

Ancient news, merged new thread with the old thread on this from four years ago.

(assuming it's not just a linkspammer, in which case the new post may disappear later).