STILLRIDE’s Industrial Origami | The Vintagent

[ad_1]

Editor’s word: everybody at The Vintagent was thrilled on the first sight of the STILRIDE scooter, as its inventive monocoque chassis appeared a worthy heir to the long-lasting Vespa design of aeronautical engineer Corradino D’Ascanio from 1946.  Then we realized the STILRIDE’s chassis was product of robotically folded metal, and that the scooter was primarily an indication venture for a brand new manufacturing expertise referred to as STILFOLD, which is deeply spectacular.  What number of car producers have as their core intention a revolutionary possibility for extra environment friendly manufacturing mixed with radical design potentialities?  It’s as if Luigi Colani (see the notes from our Silver Shotgun exhibit) had a brand new manufacturing expertise to again up his futuristic design sensibility.  Learn Stephanie Weaver’s interview under:

From any angle, the STILRIDE scooter is exclusive and engaging. Might this be the way forward for car manufacturing? [STILRIDE]

Industrial engineer Tue Beijer has twin obsessions: sustainability and classic scooters. Earlier than constructing his spectacular resume, which incorporates working with iconic Ferrari 250 GTO designer Giotto Bizzarrini, Husqvarna, and BMW, Beijer designed his first electrical scooter in 1993. Sadly, there was hardly a requirement for eco-friendly autos again then. It took one other 27 years, till 2020, that Beijer’s desires lastly got here to fruition, when he launched STILRIDE together with his childhood pal, Jonas Lindberg Nyvang. STILRIDE was based with Beijer’s and Nyvang’s shared imaginative and prescient of making a sustainable inheritor to the Italian scooter heritage they each love. Throughout dinner one evening, Beijer began folding a serviette because the pair brainstormed how you can develop such a motorbike. After appreciable growth, the tip result’s the STILRIDE SUS1, a retro-futuristic e-scooter created by way of “industrial origami.”

Sheet metal origami: the STILRIDE chassis will not be forged aluminum, as it would seem, however a number of items of folded metal, welded collectively robotically. [STILRIDE]

Just like the Japanese artwork of folding paper, STILRIDE’s patented curve folding STILFOLD expertise makes use of robotics, CNC machining, and lasers to fold flat sheets of metal into three-dimensional shapes. By combining clever software program modeling with robotic manufacture, the STILRIDE monocoque chassis makes use of 70% fewer elements and has 25% decrease labor prices in comparison with different manufacturing processes. This implies the corporate can develop low-cost, high-quality scooters with much less environmental affect. “Not like the tubular frames on conventional scooters, the SUS1’s chassis is made with seven folded sheets of flat metal. It creates this form-follows-function design language that provides to the bike’s distinctive aesthetics. The chassis can be extremely gentle, ultra-strong, and simple to make,” Cameron Crisman, Director of Worldwide Enterprise Improvement and Development at STILRIDE, defined. “The SUS1 is a Trojan Horse to showcase STILRIDE’s expertise. It demonstrates what we are able to do.”  Their ‘computational robotic expertise’ may be utilized to any metallic designs, from automobiles and vans to furnishings and even structure (examine the ‘what if’ video on the STILFOLD website).

A conceptual re-imagining of Stockholm’s Golden Bridge for example of the potential for STILFOLD expertise. [STILRIDE]

After inventing their chassis, the startup labored with Stockholm-based bespoke brake-system firm ISR to create a proprietary braking system for the SUS1. STILRIDE can be at the moment growing an clever integrations system in-house. This may permit a consumer to start out the scooter and monitor the battery capability from their smartphone. The SUS1 is outfitted with a hub motor on the rear wheel, and the low middle of gravity supplies a secure and simple trip. It may attain high speeds of 100km/h (62mph), has a spread of 120km (75 miles), and churns out 8kW (11hp). The SUS1 can be very snug: “The battery, swingarm, and motor are all in a monocoque casing. This slides instantly into the chassis, making the SUS1 extremely inflexible. It doesn’t have a number of vibrations. The swingarm sits low and again, higher absorbing bumps for a smoother trip,” Crisman stated.

A radical evolution in manufacturing expertise implies radical adjustments in design potentialities. [STILRIDE]

Whereas STILRIDE at the moment manufactures its scooters on-site in Stockholm, the corporate plans to make use of its software program—which may be shared digitally​​—to open distant manufacturing cells in focused places worldwide.  Suppose IKEA meets robotics: flat-pack metal sheets may be shipped anyplace on the planet for native shaping utilizing downloadable software program, which helps native economies and considerably reduces the carbon emissions from transport completed autos. STILRIDE is already increasing its attain into different areas of the mobility business, and is at the moment collaborating with Polestar to develop a carbon-neutral automotive chassis to the market by 2030. “Our ambition is to assist different producers make their autos utilizing STILFOLD,” Crisman stated. For now, the corporate is targeted on the SUS1’s upcoming launch. The STILRIDE SUS1 will go on sale this spring, with an estimated supply slated for spring 2024.

The monocoque STILRIDE chassis is mated to a unitary swingarm/motor unit, very like a Vespa. [STILRIDE]

 

Stephanie Weaver is the EV Editor at The Vintagent, and a Philadelphia-based freelance author. When she’s not locked to her laptop computer, she may be discovered using horses and bikes.

[ad_2]