PRODUCING PROTOTYPES FASTER WITH HP MULTI JET FUSION
HP MULTI JET FUSION’S DESIGN FREEDOM CREATES HIGH-PERFORMING PRODUCTS

CUSTOMER AT A GLANCE

MotoSpirit UPC is a university motorcycling team that represents the ESEIAAT campus of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in the MotoStudent electric competition. The team must design and build a 100% electric motorcycle in order to win the competition and position ESEIATT UPC as an innovative institution in the world of university motorcycling.

THE CHALLENGE

The MotoStudent competition is not only about racing but also about engineering and technical solutions applied to each motorbike. For the 2018–2019 season of motorbike design, the MotoSpirit team wanted to introduce technical improvements to their device using 3D printing technology.


These 3D printing innovations are implemented in MotoSpirit’s battery package. With the help of Nacar Design, one of MotoSpirit’s sponsors, they designed and 3D printed the battery stacks that are needed to assemble the entire battery package.

INDUSTRY
Mobility and transportation

SECTOR
Motorbikes

MATERIAL
HP 3D High Reusability1 PA 12

POST-PROCESSING
Bead blasting

The stacks hold up to eight battery cells and the battery package contains 14 stacks, or a total of 112 battery cells. This high volume of battery cells makes the battery package very heavy, and MotoSpirit needed a way to create a lighter product without sacrificing robustness or mechanical resistance.

SOLUTION

Thanks to HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology the team was able to design and produce battery stacks with the following benefits:

  • Decreased weight.

    The design freedom of HP MJF allowed MotoSpirit to produce weight-optimized stacks.

  • Better performance.

    Manufacturing battery stacks with HP MJF increases the thermal performance of the battery package by creating small openings on the walls of each stack with a lattice structure shape to improve ventilation and cooling.



1. Based on using recommended packing densities and compared to selective laser sintering (SLS) technology, offers excellent reusability without sacrificing mechanical performance. Tested according to ASTM D638, ASTM D256, ASTM D790, and ASTM D648 and using a 3D scanner for dimensional accuracy. Testing monitored using statistical process controls. HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solutions using HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 provide up to 80% post-production surplus powder reusability, producing functional parts batch after batch. For testing, material is aged in real printing conditions and powder is tracked by generations (worst case for reusability). Parts are then made from each generation and tested for mechanical properties and accuracy.