Nera, the world's first 3D-printed electric motorcycle has been unveiled by German additive manufacturers BigRep and their innovation arm, NOWlab. Looking like a cross between the Batmobile and something from 80s cult movie Tron, all parts of the fully functional motorbike, excluding the electrical components, have been 3D printed including rims, tyres, fork, frame and seat.
The motorcycle was designed by Marco Mattia Cristofori and Maximilian Sedlak of NOWlab and displays the company's ability to use new techniques and materials. Nera is not yet for sale.
"Nera illustrates the massive benefits that 3D-printing offers for the production of end-use parts, particularly for batch sizes between lot size one (small quantities manufactured in a single production run) to small series, by reducing lead times and costs, optimising supply chains and limiting dependency on supplier networks," said NOWlab co-founder Daniel Büning.
Lead NERA designer, Marco Mattia Cristofori, poses with the innovative eBike. Image:BigRep
The motorcycle was 3D printed using the fused filament fabrication process. This involved a feed of continuous thermoplastic material filament through a heated, moving printer extruder head.
Nera runs on a fully electric engine, embedded in the back rim, and also features embedded sensor technology, airless tyres, and flexible bumpers instead of suspension. It also comes with forkless steering, a lightweight rhomboid wheel rim and embedded LED lights with 3D-printed reflectors.
"In building Nera, the engineers didn't simply adapt existing motorcycle designs, but instead envisioned a bike for large-format FFF technology, setting a benchmark for truly creative design; breaking the limits of traditional mechanical engineering," said NOWlab.
While 3D printing has been used by designers and architects in a number of products, from steels bridges to models of a patient's heart in surgery planning, BigRep is the first creator to use the technology for motorcycle production.
Back to Homepage
Back to Technology & Innovation
Back to Transportation