Czech university first in the world in 3D printing of unique scooter frame

Czech university first in the world in 3D printing of unique scooter frame
Czech Technical University of Ostrava´s team Protolab printed the world´s first unique scooter frame from stainless steel / Protolab
By nto in Prague March 6, 2019

Czech Technical University of Ostrava´s team Protolab printed the world´s first unique scooter frame from stainless steel, daily iDnes.cz reported on March 5. The main goal of further development is to produce a serial model that can be bought even by ordinary customers.

“We wanted to do something that has not been made yet. In addition, scooters are currently experiencing revival, many people are driving them,” said a Protolab team member and mentor Petr Stefek, explaining why the team decided to print a scooter.

According to the leader of Protolab team Marek Pagac, their prototype is lighter than if it was made by traditional method. The university has been working on this project with construction company Renishaw that lent a 3D printer on which a scooter was printed from metallic powder.

According to estimates, development of a scooter frame cost several hundreds of thousands of Czech crowns, partly financed by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic within PRE SEED VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava Fund project. There is a potential to commercialize the project in future which, however, relies on outcome of the second generation and on development of 3D printers.

The team is currently developing a second-generation scooter with a slightly modified design which should be ready by August. In October, they plan to introduce it at the International Engineering Fair in Brno.

Tech

Dismiss