BMW Motorrad iParts revolutionises spare parts management.

Munich. A worn valve cap in the middle of the
Icelandic ice desert, a gear lever broken off in the depths of the
Brazilian jungle or a split oil sump in the hamada: this kind of
problem often leads to a lengthy interruption if not the end of a
motorcycle tour or a long-distance trip on two wheels.

For this reason BMW Motorrad will be offering BMW
Motorrad iParts
as an optional equipment item from this
summer. This is a 3D printing system which will allow BMW Motorrad
dealers and customers to print out spare parts as required on site so
as to be able to continue their journey as quickly as possible.

High-performance 3D printers at BMW Motorrad sales partners
and 3D Mobile Printers for transportation on the
motorcycle.
For this purpose, 250 selected BMW Motorrad
sales partners worldwide will be initially fitted with a permanently
installed 3D printing system. This system, which includes an
integrated processing centre, allows the manufacture and subsequent
machining of large and complex parts such as bevel gears, crown gears
and engine housings. In this way, BMW Motorrad will be raising the
whole area of spare parts to a new level: the new system will mean
that even very rarely required parts not generally stocked by BMW
Motorrad sales partners can be supplied on a just-in-time basis.

3D Mobile Printers for transportation on the motorcycle.

Smaller parts such as handbrake, clutch or gear levers, valve
caps, fork bridges and turn indicator glasses can even be printed out
by BMW Motorrad customers themselves using the BMW Motorrad
iParts 3D Mobile Printer
. This can be done not just at home
but even when out and about, since the handy high-tech device can be
conveniently stowed in a top case or side case.

Integration of the 3D Mobile Printer in a specially developed
CFRP top case.


In order to compensate for the additional weight of the mobile
printer, a special top case made of CFRP has been developed offering a
weight reduction of approximately 4.5 kg as compared to a standard top
case. Special layer structuring in the CFRP fibre composition ensures
noise and vibration damping for optimum, disruption-free use of the
printer. It was also possible to integrate the power supply in the
laminate so as to avoid cables being visible on the outside.

Download of design data and material specifications from the
BMW iCloud via smartphone, tablet or PC onto the 3D
printer.
The design data and material specifications
required for printing purposes are supplied from the BMW iCloud,
whether at the customer’s home or during travel: the data is
downloaded directly onto the 3D printing systems via mobile phone,
tablet or PC. A functioning internet connection is of course required
for successful download.

Anyone travelling on their motorbike to particularly remote
areas of the planet where an internet connection is not always
available can make use of the optional equipment item BMW
Motorrad iParts Explorer
. This enables a selection of
potentially required spare parts data to be saved directly on the
smartphone before setting off on the journey.

Selective laser sintering – highly sophisticated laser
technology for fast and precise manufacturing of spare
parts.
3D printing was established in the area of parts
development some 20 years ago in the form of so-called Rapid
Prototyping. Even back then it was possible to create spare parts from
plastic using laser technology and a CNC-controlled layering method.
This technique has since advanced considerably and it is now possible
to produce spare parts made of various metal alloys using
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).

In addition to creating parts from metals such as aluminium,
steel and titanium, the BMW Motorrad iParts 3D printers also allow
fast turn-out of plastic parts. This means that a turn indicator glass
which is broken during a fall, for instance, can quickly be replaced
with a print-out version. It is even possible to replace a cracked
rear mirror using the BMW iParts 3D printers.

Intensive lab testing of the BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile
Printers as well as field trials in extreme climate zones across the
planet.
BMW Motorrad has carried out extensive
functional and strength tests on all the parts approved for 3D
printing – initially in the lab and later in the field. Ignaz
Druckmeyer, Head of BMW Motorrad iParts: “Once again we were able
to draw on in-house synergies and tap into the relevant preliminary
development work carried out by BMW Automobiles. Ultimately the
challenge was to develop a small, portable yet high-performance 3D
printer for transportation on the motorcycle. We managed to achieve
this in the form of the BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer. The SLS
unit is equipped with its own power supply – a high-performance saline
battery – and was subjected to a range of highly rigorous functional
tests both in extreme cold and in blistering heat with a high level of
dust exposure.”

The BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer was most recently
exposed to extreme conditions in the Australian outback, for example.
Even at peak temperatures of plus 48 degrees Celsius and with high
volumes of dust, the replicated parts equalled their conventionally
manufactured counterparts in all respects.

The BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer was also subjected to
extreme cold in the Antarctic. At temperatures of minus 52 degrees,
the BMW Motorrad testing team followed in the footsteps of Roald
Amundsen, travelling on four BMW R 1200 GS to reach the South Pole on
16 December 2017 – exactly 106 years after Amundsen’s discovery. As
was the case on Amundsen’s own expedition a shelter was erected, in
this case symbolically representing the BMW Motorsport tent – with
aluminium tent poles produced directly on site using the BMW Motorrad
iPart 3D Mobile Printer.

The market launch of the new optional equipment item BMW
Motorrad iParts and the BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer will be
in September 2018.


You will find press material on BMW motorcycles and BMW Motorrad
rider equipment in the BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com.


In case of queries please contact:

Tim Diehl-Thiele, Head of Communication BMW Motorrad
Tel.:
+49 89 382 57505, Fax: +49 89 382-7061001, E-Mail: Tim.Diehl-Thiele@bmw.de


The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in
more than 140 countries.

In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and
more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the
financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to €
98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a workforce
of 129,932 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

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