Light Rider : World’s First 3d Printed Electric Motorcycle

APWorks a branch of Airbus (Aerospace company), announced the creation of 3D-printed motorcycle called a Light Rider, that can be used as a daily rider. The company created this Light Rider motorbike using Scalmalloy (a second-generation aluminum-magnesium-scandium alloy – AlMgS), a corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy often used in robotic parts and aerospace applications. It weighs only a 35 kg. It is described as being almost as strong as titanium. The vehicle runs on a 6-kilowatt electric motor and can reach 80 kilometers per hour in 3 seconds.

The company aforementioned the exoskeleton-like design of the Light Rider came from the need to make the frame structurally able to combat the loads and stresses of everyday riding. 

Company claims are stronger than the aluminum-silicon powder material used in most production-scale 3D printing today. Light Rider was manufactured using an algorithm based on natural growth patterns. The company aimed to create a shape that would resemble an “organic exoskeleton”, but with a frame that could handle the everyday weight and stress demands.

The Light Rider isn’t accessible for cheap mass production, but it’s not far off: the company will build just 50 of them for €50,000 a piece. Delivery is expected to take about a year.

“With the Light Rider we at APWorks demonstrate our vision of future urban mobility”, says engineer Stefanus Stahl. “We have used our know-how of optimization and manufacturing, to create means of transportation, that match our expectations”, explains APWorks’ Niels Grafen: “Exceptionally strong, impressively lightweight and of the highest quality.”

The Light Rider has been produced in a limited run of 50, which will retail online for €50,000 (£38,500).