NERA e-motorcycle: the first motorcycle completely made with 3D printing

At first glance, the photos seem to come from some film set of a film set in a distant future, but instead we are in the present and on the cover of the article there is a photo of the new Nera, an e-motorcycle created by the Nowlab laboratory by BigRep, in Germany, and entirely made through 3D printing.

Many companies are working to develop electric propulsion, such as Harley-Davidson or Kymco, just to name a couple seen at EICMA 2018, but many automotive giants are preparing for another great revolution, that of the production of components for cars and motorbikes entirely made through 3D printing. This will make it possible in the not too distant future to make any piece in a short time and at lower costs.

The Germans at Nowlab have thought of combining the two aspects of the automotive industry of the future, who with Nera have combined the future of propulsion, electric, with 3D printing technology. Everything on this special bike was custom made. The BigRep research department did not limit itself to reproducing components and technologies of current motorcycles, but went further by creating, for example, airless tyres, also made using a 3D printer, and studying components that can easily be made using FFF (Fused filament fabrication) technology. ). The absence of forks and a real swingarm is surprising, replaced by a "flexible" structure. The only components not made through 3D printing are the electrical ones, including the engine. Obviously it is only a prototype that will not be marketed, but through which it is possible to see a small 'glimpse' of the future.

“NERA combines several innovations developed by NOWlab, such as: the airless tire and the integration of embedded sensors,” explained Daniel Büning, co-founder and Managing Director of NOWlab. “This motorcycle and our other prototypes push the limits of engineering creativity and reshape automotive technology as we know it.”