RedEye Produces Chopper Prototype Using FDM

By DE Editors

RedEye (Minneapolis, MN), a business unit of Stratasys (Minneapolis, MN) unveiled what the company dubbed “the world’s first full scale custom motorcycle” created entirely from using rapid prototype parts, at Autodesk University 2008 held during the first week of December.

At the conference’s opening presentation, glimpses of future design innovation and exploration were showcased, including the custom chopper, which CTO Jeff Kowalski jumped on during his keynote.

The presentation featured the timeline from initial concept through design, to rendering, leading to physical design verification in the form of a true full-scale Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) prototype chopper, which was lowered from the ceiling on cables. Autodesk announced that it is now possible to generate 3D prints like the motorcycle directly from within Autodesk products. The web service links to RedEye over the web, allowing prints to be created then sent back to the AutoCAD user.

The prototype chopper was built using ABS M30 high-strength, production-grade thermoplastic. It included many fully functional parts, including articulating steering, illuminating headlights, and rotating wheels.

For more information, visit RedEye.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.