Germany's BigRep has become the first company in the world to present a 3D-printed electric motor. The vehicle has tyres without air and weighs only 60 kilos.
The motor, called Nera, was designed by NOWlab, the innovation arm of German additive manufacturing company BigRep. At first glance, the motor has similarities to futuristic vehicles from movies, such as Batmolbile and vehicles from Blade Runner.
All parts of the motor except the electrical components are 3D printed. These include the tyres, rims, chassis, front fork and seat. The designers behind the electric motorbike is Marco Mattia Cristofori and Maximilian Sedlak.
"Nera illustrates the great advantages of 3D printing for the production of end-use parts, especially for batch production of lot size one (small quantities in a single production run) and small series," NOWlab founder Daniel Büning tells De Zeen. "This is because costs and lead times are lower, optimising supply chains and reducing reliance on supplier networks.
Thermoplastic filament
The motor is 3D printed using so-called fused filament fabrication (FFF), in which a continuous filament of thermoplastic material is fed through a moving, heated printer head. The all-electric motor is embedded in the rear edge and the battery is mounted in the angular housing. Besides airless tyres, the Nera includes sensor technology and flexible bumpers instead of suspension.
The vehicle also features forkless steering with eight pivot points, a lightweight romboid rim, built-in LED lighting with 3D-printed reflectors and strong hexagonal structures for load-bearing elements such as the wheels. "When building Nera, the engineers did not adapt existing motor designs, instead envisioning a two-wheeler for large-format FFF technology," said the company. "This sets a benchmark for truly creative design and crosses the boundaries of traditional mechanical engineering," says NOWlab.
BigRep is globally successful with its large-scale 3D printers. Just recently, Etihad Airways Engineering announced it will use BigRep's printers: the Bigrep ONE for printing parts and tools, followed by the Bigrep EDGE industrial 3D printer to develop, test and certify materials for aircraft components. to develop.
Source: BigRep/De Zeen.
