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Airbus unit unveils 3D-printed electric motorcycle
BERLIN – What weighs 77 pounds, goes 50 mph (80 kph) and looks like a Swiss cheese on wheels?
An electric motorcycle made from tiny aluminum alloy particles using a 3D printer.
European aeronautics giant Airbus unveiled the ‘Light Rider ‘ in Germany on Friday. Manufactured by its subsidiary APWorks, a specialist in additive layer manufacturing, the motorcycle uses hollow frame parts that contain the cables and pipes.
The frame weighs just 13 pounds, about 30 per cent less than conventional e-motorbikes.
APWorks chief executive Joachim Zettler said the complex, branched hollow structure wouldn’t have been possible with conventional production technologies such as milling or welding.
The company is taking orders for a limited run of 50 motorbikes, costing 50,000 euros ($56,095), plus tax, each.
They’ll have a range of 37 miles (60 kilometres).
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