Lightning Motorcycles is speeding up the design of its bikes with the help of artificial intelligence.
The San Jose, California-based, electric motorcycle builder has started using new computer-aided design software from AutoCAD that leverages generative AI to develop complex components in a fraction of the time it would take engineers to do it using standard methods.
"It really allows our engineers to draw on a much greater database of ideas," Lightning Motors Corp. CEO JoJo Hatfield told Fox News Digital.
"Where we would typically be limited by the engineers’ experience, we can now draw on the generative design software’s database of options."
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A pilot project focused on a suspension swingarm for an upcoming, higher performance version of the Lightning LS-218 superbike. The current model has a 244 hp electric motor, can accelerate to 60 mph in less than two seconds and costs $38,988.
The goal was to make it lighter and stronger, and the result is what Hatfield called an "organic" matrix that weighs 20% less than the traditional swingarm.
"We use the generative AI software to target a part we want to optimize, and then it’s an interaction between the engineers and the software in looking at the iterations and choosing the best design," Hatfield said.
It’s also constructed of less metal, which is another goal of shifting to the tech.
"It reduces development costs and material costs by optimizing strength over weight," Hatfield said.
"We supplied the outside parameters – the length, where the wheel is, the shock mount pivot location and other key points – and the software produced several iterations."
The first version took a couple of months to design, but the process has already been cut down to a matter of days.
The prototype was constructed with a lost wax casting process that utilized 3D printing, but the initial production parts will be handcrafted from tubing. Metal forging is being looked at for future applications.
Hatfield said the software is trained on the first principles of engineering, rather than existing products, so there isn't any concern about violating intellectual property.
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The first bikes with the swingarm are expected to be on sale by the end of this year. Lightning is a small manufacturer that doesn’t release sales figures, but a report from Revzilla estimated that it delivered about two dozen of them in 2022.
Hatfield said the company is so pleased with how things are going so far that it is planning to expand the use of the generative AI system.
"From a structural, mechanical engineering perspective, this is probably about 80 to 90% of how we’ll be developing them in a few years."
