Case Study: Airbus APWorks achieves dramatic weight savings on its 3D-printed Light Rider with Altair OptiStruct

Airbus APWorks - Customer Case Study

Airbus APWorks, the 100% Airbus subsidiary focused on advanced additive manufacturing, needed a public demonstrator to prove how topology optimisation plus metal 3D printing can deliver extreme weight savings, manufacturability and assembly-ready designs. To drive a simulation‑led design process, APWorks used Altair’s OptiStruct for topology optimisation and Altair HyperView for validation to explore bionic, load‑driven frame concepts that meet real motorcycle boundary conditions while being printable.

Altair’s tools generated and evaluated organic, material‑efficient geometries that APWorks refined into printable parts; the team printed 14 Scalmalloy sections on EOS systems, TIG‑welded them into the Light Rider, and completed printing and assembly in three weeks. The result is a 35 kg, 6 kW electric motorcycle that reaches 80 km/h in seconds and is now offered in a 50‑unit production run—demonstrating Altair‑enabled optimisation and verification delivering measurable mass reduction and rapid manufacturability.

Airbus APWorks

Angela Gruenewald

Marketing Manager