The future?
 

Spotted this on a suppliers website

Welcome the First 3D Printed Functional Motorcycle - autoevolution

E mail it to some nice spot then ride home? :mchappy:

Andy

Amazing. 3D printing and open source philosophy will be a game changer.

I can't see it ever becoming something practical. A plastic motorcycle?? The concept is cool but I wonder how much they spent making it, how long it took to program, and why even do it to begin with?

You can print anything that will flow. Metal solutions would I think achieve something like a sintered product. Same goes for ceramics which could be finished with heat. You can also use a multiple process to coat a strength member. The rest is design to allow for the material properties.

The production is flexible, so you CAD it, your local print shop makes it. Custom rack anyone?

This is just a publicity stunt but e mailing spanners to the space station today may lead to pistons to Peru in 10 years time.

Andy

It's going to bring a whole new dimension to torrents and piracy, not to mention gun control, etc.

Indeed. Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give him the means to fish and he might whack you with the rod and steal your boat!

The sort of controls we have on bits of metal will need to be applied to data. It happens now with nuclear technology, things that might be used to make gas and bombs and so forth, but it will need to get as automated as the printer process. Pre-approved files with a code built in showing its a luggage rack for XT 600 not a machine gun seems possible. The approval process will of course be a rip off!

Andy

I love the potential of 3D printing, but I'd be nervous riding on a printed bike.