www.3ders.org

Dec 1, 2017 | By Benedict

BORN Motor Co., a Barcelona-based motorcycle company, is using a 3D printer from BCN3D Technologies to 3D print parts for its highly customized and limited edition motorcycles. 3D printing saves BORN around 2,000 euros ($2,380) for each motorcycle modified.

The motorcycle engineering experts at Barcelona’s BORN motor may have been born to be wild, but they also, at times, need to be highly focused and disciplined—when building their customized motorcycles and upgrade kits, for example.

Customization is great, and highly desirable for riders who want to stamp their individuality on their ride, but it’s also expensive. The traditional processes used to produce one-off and short-run parts can cost thousands of dollars, and are time-consuming too.

That’s why BORN Motor has started using 3D printing to create more complex motorbike parts faster and more cost-efficiently than ever before. It’s a highly methodical and thought-out process, but one that ultimately produces wild and unusual two-wheelers at less expense to the company.

The Catalonian automotive specialist is using a Sigma 3D printer from fellow Barcelona company BCN3D to complement its existing manufacturing technologies of laser cutting, CNC milling, and handcrafting.

And 3D printing, faster and cheaper than those other processes, has allowed BORN Motor to try new things, iterating several designs in a short space of time to arrive at the ideal component. The technology also helps the motorcycle company sidestep various design limitations, letting them print in materials like Nylon, PET-G, and ABS.

Although it is possible to print the majority of a bike’s bodywork, resulting in an almost entirely 3D printed motorcycle, BORN Motor is focused on 3D printing only the parts that can benefit the most from additive manufacturing technology, delivering tangible benefits to both the company and the customer. These parts include internal and non-aesthetic components, which can be made with complex shapes.

The company is serious about the cost reductions made using the BCN3D Sigma 3D printer too.

By 3D printing a dashboard housing for a Honda CB25, the cost and time reductions were massive: the part could be 3D printed in five to eight hours at a cost of just six euros ($7.14). Handcrafting would take 24 hours at a cost of 1,500 euros ($1,790), while machining would take two or three weeks at a cost of 250 euros ($298) per part.

BORN Motor produces deconstructed motorcycles, limited editions, and upgrade kits. It’s also an industrial design studio, collaborating with several motorcycle manufacturers on the aesthetic design of motorcycles.

The latest version of the BCN3D Sigma 3D printer costs 2,655 euros ($3,160). It offers dual-extrusion FDM printing, a range of nozzle sizes, and a build volume of 210 mm x 297 mm x 210 mm. Its minimum layer height is 0.05 mm, and its XY printing resolution is 12.5 microns.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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