Collaborative 3D printer to change motorcycle design

HONDA R&D Europe and WASP are implementing a sharp shift in the prototyping process by providing 3D printing of an object that can be hand finished. It seems like a contradiction for the Additive Manufacturing world but there are areas where the human hand is irreplaceable.

Until today, prototyping was carried out manually and then finished by highly qualified technicians who, like modern sculptors, would skillfully define proportions, lines and volumes. In this field it is said that: ‘only the touch and reflection of the lights on the piece can guide the development’.

While the production approach of ‘finished piece’ characterises 3D printing, WASP, already back in 2017 experimented with extrusion types for industrial clay, creating a totally innovative approach for the modeling world.

Antonio Arcadu, Design Modeling Coordinator at Honda R&D Europe has met with WASP engineers. From this encounter arose new impulses that, based on reciprocal experiences, integrate manual knowledge with Additive Manufacturing and fully insert WASP's collaborative 3D printing technology in the creative process of an industrial clay model.

Now HONDA R&D Europe and WASP are partners and in the coming months, they will showcase their achievements.