Print spare parts for your motorcycle ... while you drive!

You are in the middle of the desert, making a journey with your motorcycle and suffer a fall, as a result of which the lower crankcase lid and the change lever are broken. The nearest workshop is hundreds of kilometers, and the sun will soon put on ... no problem, print the pieces and you can mount them on the motorcycle and follow the trip.

BMW innovation

The German company has just presented its new 3D spare parts printing system called Iparts, through which concessionaires and also customers will be able to print their own replacement pieces from anywhere. The dealers will have high -sized high -performance 3D printers, capable of printing any replacement requested in real time. Customers who need it can incorporate a portable 3D printer located in the central suitcase of the motorcycle, to be able to get out of the way when they need a broken or worn piece during a trip.

All in the cloud

The printer directly downloads the print files of each piece from BMW Icloud, the server dedicated to these needs. If we travel to the Amazon jungle, the North Pole, or any site without coverage, we can previously download the BMW Iparts Explorer program with all the pieces for our motorcycle model.

Metal and plastic alloys

The technology used by printers is the SLS or selective laser sintering, similar to that used by the development equipment of Formula 1 and that allows to manufacture pieces of various metal alloys (aluminum, steel, titanium ...) and plastics. It is even possible to print a "replacement mirror"!

Technological disruption

This new development is another example of the changes that the automotive industry is experiencing in recent years, thanks to the application of innovative technologies, which will change forever and in a radical way the rules of the game as we knew them , creating a new world of possibilities and new ways of doing things. 

Frank Burguera