APWorks, whose parent company is Airbus, is set up to develop additive manufacturing techniques – especially metallic 3D printing – for the supply chains of Airbus’ main businesses.
Occasionally, however, APWorks releases independent products that have been developed through their manufacturing work for Airbus.
The latest release? The world’s first 3D printed electric motorcycle:
The bike features some impressive specs. Thanks to APWorks proprietary 3D printing material, Scalmalloy – an aluminum alloy, the vehicle weighs in at only 77 lbs. That’s the overall system with the 6 kW motor, battery pack, and mechanical parts. The frame itself only weights 13 lbs’ and clearly looks 3D printed, a look APWorks says it was going for.
The motorcycles hollow frame allows for integrated cables and pipes for the vehicle’s powertrain. The battery is swappable and enables a range of 37 miles on a single charge. The top speed is 50 mph, and it can accelerate from 0 to 28 mph in 3 seconds.
Want one? Well, you’re in luck! The company is going ahead with a limited production run of 50 Light Riders for sale, coming in at a whopping $56,000 each.