Printing titanium bicycle parts. A Charge Bikes collaboration with EADS from Charge Bikes on Vimeo.
Aug.16, 2012http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/08/16/charge-bikes-uses-3d-printed-titanium-bike-parts-shows-us-the-future/
UK bike brand Charge Bikes has revealed that they are working with the European Aeronautic Defence and Space centre (EADS) in Bristol, UK developing a very limited run of 50 bikes with unique 3D printed titanium dropouts.
(http://www.3ders.org/images/charge-bike-eads-dropout-3d-printed-titanium-parts-5.jpg)
Traditional methods such as forging and CNC has limitations and drawbacks. It is difficult to produce complex shapes and CNC has very high waste rate while forging has very high tooling costs.
Using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technology the design is sliced into fine layers and melted in a bed of powder to form a solid form. This approach means that complex parts can be made as a single piece easily.
(http://www.3ders.org/images/charge-bike-eads-dropout-3d-printed-titanium-parts-1.jpg)
To produce titanium dropouts, EADS uses a DMLS machine to melt and print powdered titanium into super detailed dropout. Each layer is 0.03mm thick and it takes about 40 hours to produce a batch of 50 dropouts.
(http://www.3ders.org/images/charge-bike-eads-dropout-3d-printed-titanium-parts-2.jpg)
(http://www.3ders.org/images/charge-bike-eads-dropout-3d-printed-titanium-parts-3.jpg)
(http://www.3ders.org/images/charge-bike-eads-dropout-3d-printed-titanium-parts-4.jpg)
This is not a quick process, but it is still the best method to make titanium parts. Specialist ALM Engineer Andy Hawkins at EADS says,QuoteTitanium is expensive, so anything that reduces wastage is a bonus. It's also poor at conducting heat, which means that the laser is able to very effectively and accurately melt the layers. Aluminium, which melts at a much lower temperature, requires twice the laser power because it's such an efficient conductor. Titanium, especially as a 6Al/4V alloy (6% aluminium and 4% vanadium) is extremely hard, and that makes it costly and time-consuming to machine.Once the parts are finished they will be shipped to Taipei where they'll be welded into a cyclocross frame.
The additive layer process is so well suited to making small and complex titanium parts that it's already cost effective for some applications. "We recently ran a batch of parts for an aerospace project," Andy says. "By nesting them together on the plate we managed to produce 50 at once, all slightly different. In the end we couldn't have produced them as cheaply or as quickly any other way."
This technology is still very much in its infancy, this means it is expensive. There is no exactly figure how much it costs to produce the dropouts, but according to the company, the 50 limited edition Freezer models costs at least £400 more than the conventional design.
Charge bike is the first company in the industry producing parts using 3D printing technology. According road.cc, Cannondale have also one DMLS machine in the office for knocking out sample designs that you can hold in your hand.
New technology opens up so much potential and this process will certainly revolutionise how bikes are made. The cost of 3D printer has come down in the last years, and when 3D printer becomes cheaper and faster it will be possible to print the entire metal frame in one piece. Every bike can be uniquely customized for individuals, with your own measurement, favorite colors and prints.
(http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/charge-bikes-freezer-titanium-printed-dropouts1-600x400.jpg)
Raceware Direct just sent us these photos of a prototype 3D printed titanium stem that one of their reps, Martyn Harris, says he’ll be racing on his bike at the Track World Masters in Manchester next month. This isn’t the first printed titanium part for bikes, Charge Bikes recently showed off their very limited edition 3D printed ti dropouts, but Harris says this is the first printed ti stem he’s aware of. We’re gather more details on it and will update the post as we get them.
(http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Raceware-3D-printed-titanium-bicycle-stem-600x400.jpg)
First: plastic prototypes
(https://default.secure.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/11141%7C0000089c6%7Cbf35_Stem-Prototype-additive-manufacturing.jpg)
Cross-section of the prototype
(https://default.secure.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/11141%7C0000089c8%7C1fd3_Additive-manufacturing-sample.jpg)
G, would you be able to do that honeycomb interior with a cast part?
Did you make that yourself G? Certainly looks like theres a bunch of custom parts in there if not.
We've got a bfb one in our office, similar but the table just moves up and down and the heads move about in the 2 other planes like a router, i think it helps with building taller parts, stops them falling over. Amazing machine, considering it cost about 800 quid or something + 2 days of assembly by 'a competent engineer'*, ours has run probably 12hrs a day since we got it in feb.
(http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w136/testicletim/IMGA0153Small_zpsfece243f.jpg)
*took me 2 weeks before it was running, fuckers.
video - VRZ 2 BELT 3D printed titanium lugged carbon bike by ralf holleis (http://vimeo.com/78347167)
http://cargocollective.com/vorwaertz/BIKES
http://www.core77.com/blog/digital_fabrication/3d-printed_bike_porn_ralf_holleiss_carbon_fiber_vrz_2_track_with_titanium_lugs_and_dropouts_24937.asp
(http://i40.tinypic.com/311tauu.jpg)
(http://i39.tinypic.com/2zss8bn.jpg)
(http://i44.tinypic.com/4sfneg.jpg)
The truss-like stem
(http://i41.tinypic.com/2ms3jg9.jpg)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/10d8tog.jpg)
(http://i41.tinypic.com/fcp79f.jpg)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/dxn2ja.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwJwcnV-wso
"Empire MX-6 all-mountain bike gets complete 3D printed frame (http://www.3ders.org/articles/20140130-gear-up-with-the-world-first-3d-printed-mountain-bike.html)"
(http://i61.tinypic.com/2drgcw.jpg)
(http://i62.tinypic.com/mtw83q.jpg)
(http://i60.tinypic.com/i25bti.png)
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/539450/chris-froome-s-pinarello-dogma-65-1.html
"Printed titanium chain-catcher"
(http://i41.tinypic.com/5wi7af.jpg)
https://default.secure.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/11141/00000aeb8/e52c/Raceware-chain-catcher.jpg
(http://i44.tinypic.com/m7bdbm.jpg)
http://www.machinery-market.co.uk/images/photos/1691.jpg
Additive manufacturing success - New company is using this technology to produce plastic and titanium parts for racing bicycles (http://www.machinery-market.co.uk/news/4065/Additive-manufacturing-success)
http://www.flyingmachine.com.au/2014/01/3d-printed-titanium-bike-of-the-future/I don't understand why so much of the bike stuff goes uncolored...
(http://i61.tinypic.com/29wl8p1.jpg)
(http://i61.tinypic.com/14y0dar.jpg)
(http://i60.tinypic.com/2mr5dgh.jpg)
(http://www.flyingmachine.com.au/wp-content/themes/6cm/scripts/timthumb.php?w=624&src=http://www.flyingmachine.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/FM-3D-Printed-Titanium-Bicycle-03-.jpg)
Quote from: KillSeth;3590684G, would you be able to do that honeycomb interior with a cast part?
In the video of the dropouts he specifically claims that they couldnt have made those dropouts any other way and yet that is rubbish. You could investment cast them for a relatively low tool cost.
read something the other day about f1 teams and aircraft manufacturers using 3d printing for components. not on a large scale, but still very cool. int he next few years i bet well start seeing a lot of 3d printed big bike stuff
Chief Architect Cong Sun recently unveiled that 3D printing has been widely used in designing and producing of the newest J-15 prototype which had its first successful test in October 2012. 3D printing has been used to manufacture critical titanium alloy load-bearing structure on the aircraft, including the entire nose landing gear.(http://www.3ders.org/images/chinese-3d-printed-titanium-airplane-component.jpg)
China aims to become a leader in commercializing 3D printing technology to manufacture titanium parts in aviation industry. The laser additive manufacturing technology could save 90% of raw material, and the cost is only 5% of the traditional method - for example, the cost of a part made with traditional technology is 25 million RMB (4 million USD), but using laser additive manufacturing technology the cost is only 1.3 million (210K USD). Because no tooling is required, the processing charge is also just 10% of the orginal.
Open access: https://www.academia.edu/5327317/A_Low-Cost_Open-Source_Metal_3-D_Printer...and then burn your house down
Free designs: http://www.appropedia.org/Open-source_metal_3-D_printer
Sigma Labs & Michigan Tech to develop low cost 3D metal printer
Dec.23, 2013
Sigma Labs, a developer of real-time quality inspection systems for 3D metal printing, today announced the development of technology to support a low-cost, 3D metal printer based on arc welding technology. As part of this initiative, Sigma Labs has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) to collaborate technically in the development of technology for a low-cost, 3D metal printer for near-net shape parts that require only 3- or 5-axis machining to take the parts to final form.
"Michigan Tech has recently developed an open source 3D printer based on gas metal arc welding technology. Sigma Labs has a unique knowledge base in advanced sensing and process control for gas metal arc welding." said Mark Cola, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sigma Labs.
Sigma Labs, Inc. has two wholly-owned subsidiaries – B6 Sigma, Inc. and Sumner & Lawrence Limited (dba Sumner Associates). B6 Sigma develops precision manufacturing solutions and advanced materials technologies, as well as R&D solutions.
"Along with strategic partners, we intend to develop, test, and launch a customized, low-cost 3D printing solution for metals like titanium, steel, aluminum, and nickel-based alloys." Cola states. "Our low-cost printing technology is directly focused at servicing the currently untapped market of tens of thousands of users presently dissuaded by the high-cost, barriers to entry of 3D laser powder-bed solutions. Lastly, we have identified manufacturing sources capable of producing our low-cost 3D printing technology."
You Can Now 3D Print with Metal at Home (http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/you-can-now-3d-print-with-metal-at-home)
Scientists build a $1,500 open-source 3D metal printer (http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131205-scientists-build-a-open-source-3d-metal-printer.html)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/294p6hl.png)
You don't have to be an expert in the field of 3D printing to know about casting do you... Unless there is something crazy inside those dropouts they're not showing, they would be very simple to cast.Quote from: KillSeth;3590684G, would you be able to do that honeycomb interior with a cast part?
In the video of the dropouts he specifically claims that they couldnt have made those dropouts any other way and yet that is rubbish. You could investment cast them for a relatively low tool cost.
i clicked on this topic specifically to see the rant that i knew you would put in here. You dont know that for a fact, that is speculation. Just because you have some sort of cut rate 3-d printer at home doesnt make you any kind of expert in the field, nor does reading about it in forums or internet articles. Any time i see a topic about something new that you are doing it is you talking about how it is the best thing around and every time i see a topic about a new process that you didnt adopt it is bashed on or questioned. get over yourself.
Quote from: KillSeth;3590684G, would you be able to do that honeycomb interior with a cast part?
In the video of the dropouts he specifically claims that they couldnt have made those dropouts any other way and yet that is rubbish. You could investment cast them for a relatively low tool cost.
i clicked on this topic specifically to see the rant that i knew you would put in here. You dont know that for a fact, that is speculation. Just because you have some sort of cut rate 3-d printer at home doesnt make you any kind of expert in the field, nor does reading about it in forums or internet articles. Any time i see a topic about something new that you are doing it is you talking about how it is the best thing around and every time i see a topic about a new process that you didnt adopt it is bashed on or questioned. get over yourself.
Make one of these, George...
"Video of Low-Cost Open-Source 3D Metal Printing v.1 2013 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvgyDjB18JY)"QuoteOpen access: https://www.academia.edu/5327317/A_Low-Cost_Open-Source_Metal_3-D_Printer...and then burn your house down
Free designs: http://www.appropedia.org/Open-source_metal_3-D_printer
Sigma Labs & Michigan Tech to develop low cost 3D metal printer
Dec.23, 2013
Sigma Labs, a developer of real-time quality inspection systems for 3D metal printing, today announced the development of technology to support a low-cost, 3D metal printer based on arc welding technology. As part of this initiative, Sigma Labs has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) to collaborate technically in the development of technology for a low-cost, 3D metal printer for near-net shape parts that require only 3- or 5-axis machining to take the parts to final form.
"Michigan Tech has recently developed an open source 3D printer based on gas metal arc welding technology. Sigma Labs has a unique knowledge base in advanced sensing and process control for gas metal arc welding." said Mark Cola, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sigma Labs.
Sigma Labs, Inc. has two wholly-owned subsidiaries – B6 Sigma, Inc. and Sumner & Lawrence Limited (dba Sumner Associates). B6 Sigma develops precision manufacturing solutions and advanced materials technologies, as well as R&D solutions.
"Along with strategic partners, we intend to develop, test, and launch a customized, low-cost 3D printing solution for metals like titanium, steel, aluminum, and nickel-based alloys." Cola states. "Our low-cost printing technology is directly focused at servicing the currently untapped market of tens of thousands of users presently dissuaded by the high-cost, barriers to entry of 3D laser powder-bed solutions. Lastly, we have identified manufacturing sources capable of producing our low-cost 3D printing technology."
You Can Now 3D Print with Metal at Home (http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/you-can-now-3d-print-with-metal-at-home)
Scientists build a $1,500 open-source 3D metal printer (http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131205-scientists-build-a-open-source-3d-metal-printer.html)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/294p6hl.png)
Quote from: KillSeth;3590684G, would you be able to do that honeycomb interior with a cast part?
In the video of the dropouts he specifically claims that they couldnt have made those dropouts any other way and yet that is rubbish. You could investment cast them for a relatively low tool cost.
i clicked on this topic specifically to see the rant that i knew you would put in here. You dont know that for a fact, that is speculation. Just because you have some sort of cut rate 3-d printer at home doesnt make you any kind of expert in the field, nor does reading about it in forums or internet articles. Any time i see a topic about something new that you are doing it is you talking about how it is the best thing around and every time i see a topic about a new process that you didnt adopt it is bashed on or questioned. get over yourself.
So you are freely admitting that your only reason for posting in this thread is to troll?... and you call MY post a rant?
:)
G.
(http://www.3ders.org/images/3d-printed-parts-fighter-1.png)
you're not paying attention...
Looks like it has fairly clear tool paths on it?
fully-articulated, moving electron beam welding gun deposits metal, layer by layer, until the part is complete and ready for finish machining.
(http://www.3ders.org/images/sciaky_direct_manufacturing.jpg)
(http://i57.tinypic.com/ajv6zq.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7bUttlvMgE
Quote from: KillSeth;3590684G, would you be able to do that honeycomb interior with a cast part?
In the video of the dropouts he specifically claims that they couldnt have made those dropouts any other way and yet that is rubbish. You could investment cast them for a relatively low tool cost.
i clicked on this topic specifically to see the rant that i knew you would put in here. You dont know that for a fact, that is speculation. Just because you have some sort of cut rate 3-d printer at home doesnt make you any kind of expert in the field, nor does reading about it in forums or internet articles. Any time i see a topic about something new that you are doing it is you talking about how it is the best thing around and every time i see a topic about a new process that you didnt adopt it is bashed on or questioned. get over yourself.
So you are freely admitting that your only reason for posting in this thread is to troll?... and you call MY post a rant?
:)
G.
is that not exactly what i called you out for doing. G views thread topics... "what can i try to correct people on"
thanksQuote from: KillSeth;3590684G, would you be able to do that honeycomb interior with a cast part?
In the video of the dropouts he specifically claims that they couldnt have made those dropouts any other way and yet that is rubbish. You could investment cast them for a relatively low tool cost.
i clicked on this topic specifically to see the rant that i knew you would put in here. You dont know that for a fact, that is speculation. Just because you have some sort of cut rate 3-d printer at home doesnt make you any kind of expert in the field, nor does reading about it in forums or internet articles. Any time i see a topic about something new that you are doing it is you talking about how it is the best thing around and every time i see a topic about a new process that you didnt adopt it is bashed on or questioned. get over yourself.
So you are freely admitting that your only reason for posting in this thread is to troll?... and you call MY post a rant?
:)
G.
is that not exactly what i called you out for doing. G views thread topics... "what can i try to correct people on"
Yes it is
I just want to see ti sprockets priced the same as aluminum ones again...
"World's first 3D-printed titanium bike is super strong and incredibly light -
Empire Cycles' MX-6 prototype is a third lighter than normal metal bike frames, and four times stronger than the most stringent tests demand – this is the future of pedal power (http://www.stuff.tv/empire-cycles-mx-6-bicycle-has-worlds-first-3d-printed-titanium-frame/news)"
(http://i60.tinypic.com/205qi50.jpg)
RNC sprockets were priced pretty close to most aluminum ones, and they were much thicker than the more expensive profile ti stuff. 2004ish?
When did that ever happen?
RNC sprockets were priced pretty close to most aluminum ones, and they were much thicker than the more expensive profile ti stuff. 2004ish?
When did that ever happen?
I figure by the time sintering/powder is widespread enough for companies like that to have a hand in it, aluminum sprockets will be 80+ dollars, and I could see the ti stuff fitting into that range...
RNC sprockets were priced pretty close to most aluminum ones, and they were much thicker than the more expensive profile ti stuff. 2004ish?
When did that ever happen?
I figure by the time sintering/powder is widespread enough for companies like that to have a hand in it, aluminum sprockets will be 80+ dollars, and I could see the ti stuff fitting into that range...
the future of MTB frames is in carbon, not titanium....
February 23, 2014In one of his state of the union speeches towards the end of 2013, he hinted at this stuff...
President Barack Obama Tuesday will announce that the Detroit area is getting a $148 million Department of Defense advanced manufacturing institute concentrating on lightweight and modern metals manufacturing.
...
The intent is to make the U.S. more competitive by expanding domestic markets for products made with lightweight and modern metals such as automobiles, wind turbines, medical devices, engines, commercial aircraft, and Department of Defense systems and vehicles. It
will also lead to significant reductions in manufacturing and energy costs.
...
Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3-D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns.
So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs.
March 27, 2014
...
The 3D printed titanium rails are designed with Airbus. The wall thickness is just a millimetre and they weigh a third of the amount of a standard titanium rail
(http://i.imgur.com/1JeO9gU.jpg)
This is the rail straight out of the 3D printer. It's smoothed and finished after printing, with the logos polished to a mirror finish
(http://i.imgur.com/KfQdHjW.jpg)
The hyper-Pins are designed to interlock into the base of the saddle. This piece locks into the nose
(http://i.imgur.com/xIXMXGV.jpg)
The whole rail is designed to work like a leaf spring, adding comfort where you need it
(http://i58.tinypic.com/2e5tmq0.jpg)
This piece locks into the rear of the base
(http://i.imgur.com/mgC07oK.jpg)
The rails locate into the base before being sonically bonded
(http://i.imgur.com/i7gZVqq.jpg)
The carbon base has slots to take the Airbus-designed 3D printed titanium rails
(http://i.imgur.com/1cnYnWo.jpg)
"Once they've been sonically bonded it takes 2 tonnes of force to separate them"
(http://i.imgur.com/99oPiuH.jpg)
.....
Now, Charge founder Nick Larsen has developed a new brand called Fabric, in collaboration with aerospace giant Airbus, which will produce saddles with 3D-printed titanium rails and whisper-thin carbon shells. Fabric will create saddles for bike brands such as Cannondale, Larsen said.
...
3D printed rails, sonic bonds and 'hyper-pin' technology
Charge Bikes started using 3D-printing technology on the rear dropouts of its titanium cyclocross frames, working in partnership with Airbus. So when when looking at creating the rails for Fabric's flagship ALM (additive layer manufacturing) saddle, Larsen went back to Airbus. The hollow rail is shaped to act as a leaf-spring, with wall thicknesses of just 1mm, except for at the reinforced clamp section. The design weighs a third of the ti rails on the Charge knife saddle.
Traditionally, saddle makers use glue and/or bolts to attach rails to a saddle's base. With Fabric, there is another Airbus technology: the 'hyper-pin' connection. Where a standard saddle would have rails inserted into the shell, Fabric uses a series of 3D-printed pins that interlock into the shell. These are then sonically bonded to the carbon shell, which is only 1mm thick. This method of construction is used by Airbus in some of its aeronautical applications, Larsen said, so that with just eight pins interlocked, the saddle junction is able to withstand a whopping two tons of force.
"Airbus must take the credit for the carbon technology within the saddles," Larsen said. "It's something we just haven't seen in bikes ever. We've tested the rails and base and they've been bent under testing to 90 degrees and still didn't fail. That should mean the Fabric saddle should take the worst of impacts and still be fine to use."
...
INDUSTRY, a portland-based design consultancy, has collaborated with master builders Ti cycles to create solid - the first connected, 3D printed titanium bike.(http://www.industrypdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/industry-inspire-press-kit-main.jpg)
This series of images shows the progression from CAD to direct metal laser-sintered (DMLS) parts for the components of the Kappius hub's drive assembly: the 3D CAD model (top left) is used to guide the sintering operation in an EOSINT M 270 system; a screenshot from the system's PSW software (top right) illustrates how parts are laid out on the build platform to maximise the manufacturing run; a 200-watt laser melts the powdered maraging steel (bottom left and middle), joining one layer to the next; and the finished components are covered in excess steel powder (bottom right), which is then removed using compressed air and recycled before final machining and heat-treating steps are performed.(http://i41.tinypic.com/2agw4ur.jpg)
April 16, 2013
To inventors, the "home garage" has always been a symbol of possibility-a place for tinkerers to create and innovate.
About four years ago, Russ Kappius-mountain-bike enthusiast, winner of six Masters racing titles, became obsessed with bicycle hubs. He wanted more speed and responsiveness, but wasn't sure how to get it.
He got an idea for a new hub-drive system and did a patent search. "I quickly learned that there wasn't anything out there that covered what I was thinking." says Kappius.
After working out a design for a novel oversized hub and high-performance drive assembly that would transfer more power from pedal to chain to wheel, Kappius patented the concept and began looking for a way to fabricate the parts.
But how to find an efficient, cost-effective and fast route to transfer his idea to physical product? At first, Kappius and his son, Brady (an engineer and pro mountain-biker), fabricated their hub with machines then field-testing and tweaking the design.
"Because we're a startup, we quickly learned that we needed to make design changes and get new parts to our customers fast to stay competitive," the elder Kappius says.
Then in late 2011, Kappius discovered direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), an industrial additive manufacturing ("3D printing") technology. Using 3D printer from German-based EOS GmbH they could produce parts with exact specifications and design complexity they need.
"We went from concept to bike-ready components in about a month," he says. "I've never been able to move that quickly before."
Kappius Components' hubs have been through a half-dozen design iterations, but the recent move to laser sintering has accelerated the speed of improvements. Here is his story.
"As a software engineer, I am able to change anything at any time to make the code better," says Kappius. "With DMLS, I have similar flexibility. It allows me to make small design changes and almost immediately test them on the bike. That's the beauty of the technology."
The beauty of the lightweight-yet-durable hub, on the other hand, comes from the sleek carbon-fiber shell (handmade by the younger Kappius), as well as the drive assembly housed inside it - including a drive ring, toothed inner ring, and pawls (or flippers), all made using DMLS.
...
When he first geared up for business, Kappius bought ready-made pawls and engineered the rest of his system around them. Once he discovered laser sintering, however, he was able to redesign the pawl itself and add a one-millimeter cylindrical basal extension, which positioned them better when they engaged.
Kappius is pleased with the results. "The tool steel is super strong," he says. "I haven't had a single hub failure. Even the big manufacturers can't say that." Bicycling magazine included Kappius hubs on the timeline of noteworthy bicycle innovations in their 50th anniversary issue in November, 2011.
With DMLS technology and help from a New York-based DMLS provider Harbec who supplies them parts on an as-needed basis, the father-son team assembles components in their home shop after hours and ships them out to early-adopter cyclists around the world. Production is accelerating fast for the young company-they sold about 100 hub assemblies this past year and are projecting sales of 500 in 2014.
The benefits of DMLS for the bike-hub creator? "Number one is design freedom," says Kappius. "Number two is the material strength. Three is lead time."
http://www.rntbike.com/
http://reviews.mtbr.com/interbike-road-not-taken-flex-fit-108-flat-pedal-with-float/rnt-foil-tape
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/interbike-2014-tech-fest-special-nerd-worshippers-edition.html
Road Not Taken is a South Korea based start-up company that manufactures simple products that are beautifully crafted and engineered. Their titanium hardtail fame is pieced together using printed lugs, brazed to ultra-strong 6-4 alloy tubes, using a material that has only been available to the public for three years. Amorphous titanium - http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2004/ch_7.html - has no grain structure, as most people understand it, and thus becomes almost as viscous as water when it liquefies. RNT wraps a thin ribbon of amorphous titanium around the tubes at each junction and then heats the frame in a vacuum oven until the ribbon melts and bonds the tubes to the lugs. The result is a one-piece titanium structure. I read about amorphous metal a few years ago when The Wall Street Journal announced that Apple had purchased the rights to use the patented process from Liquid Metal - but until Interbike, I had never touched the stuff.
Post by joe on Apr 15, 2011
heres some updates...
the pedals were done as a 3d print. i drew them in vector 3d and then stuck them in with some other stuff we were doing at work so didnt cost me a penny :)
heres a pic of ther two halves bofore i moulded them, the tape is where you cut to on the mould to create a split line. each half in the pic is one left and one right. then i cast it twice and stuck two together. dunno if thats easy to understand but for example, the one on the right in the first pic is the right peddle and another one exactly the same will fit onto it to create the whole right peddle.
(http://i.imgur.com/2CVBNZf.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/al5HUkn.jpg)
heres two the same after i cast them to make a whole pedal.
(http://i.imgur.com/zmw1kNW.jpg)
the pedal was grief to work out how to make cos i couldnt really do it on the mill as there are so many weird undercuts and stuff. so even a 3d print had to be done as only a half cos of the way it works, it needs to have a bottom where i gets printed from which wouldnt have worked to do it as a whole pedal.
some more pics
(http://i.imgur.com/wpPu3nV.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/73QGwSd.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/Xbxd3KG.jpg)
heres some pics with colour on them. I used the steel pins that I had from the chain and the smaller pins in the middle are plastic. First I painted them silver then sprayed them with lacquer with orange ink in it and they looked pretty good but I couldnt get the gold to look even cos where more paint was the colour was much darker. I was trying to achieve the plasti-coated look they have. Anyway, I wasn't happy so I stripped them in thinners and mixed up some gold paint and used some of the same orange ink with it then clear lacquered them afterwards.
Heres the result, pretty good i think.
(http://i.imgur.com/BunwMOI.jpg)
Read more: http://ipmsuk.proboards.com/thread/8038#ixzz3LyBkxk8W
Oct. 30, 2014from 2013...
(http://i.imgur.com/XAJMvgB.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/Bk28OKl.png)
Metal printing has developed further in the past 10 years, and more and more investors and analyst have shown interests in metal 3D printing. 3D printing for direct metal part manufacturing could lead to cost saving and better performing components. Unfortunately, the price of commercial metal 3D printers are so expensive and it remained out of reach of most people.
One startup, Huntsville, Alabama based Weld3D wants to make 3D metal printing affordable. Weld3D, a team of aerospace engineers started development of their idea and process about a year ago. "Weld3D all started out with a couple curious aerospace engineers working in the garage on the nights and weekends." Paul from Weld3D told us.
"We were frustrated with the lack of parts and process development that people were showing and knew we had more information to offer on our builds. That is when we seriously started working on Weld3D and getting some of our information out there."
The original intent was just to see if we could achieve low cost metal printing." Paul said. "We follow the industry trends and are aware of all the high end metal printing work being completed; we are also aware of the researchers and startups showing some of their developments."
The starup has been working on development of a process that produces basic and complex parts from metal (Model to Metal), and have printed dozen of parts in metal.
"It still has some minor tweaks, but overall we have been able to make complex parts and geometries in an evening (for most builds)." Paul told us. "We recently completed some mechanical property testing of our process and will release those results soon. We are using an arc welder, but have notebooks full of ideas for other related processes."
They plan to use capital raised from the initial products to fund some of their more advanced ideas that all involved low cost 3D printing with metal.
"Initially, we are looking to get our process out to market to adapt to existing personal CNC machines. This will reduce the barriers and cost to entry." Paul said. "We continue our development process with different alloys ...so our customers will have access to reliable parameters using the Weld3D process. We are also currently in talks with some suppliers about building custom machines for a complete plug and play system."
The team is stil working on the details so there is no price data available yet. But the company assures us that they will be of great value to hobbyist and commercial customers.
Weld3D is currently looking for commercial and university partnerships as well as software partners. Over the coming months they will be releasing more data of the process, photos, and products so people can make their own metal 3D prints. Stay tuned, we'll keep you updated as soon as we learn more about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOarxQRKW9o
Just when you thought boutique bicycle components couldn’t get any pricier, Danish company CeramicSpeed has gone and utterly shattered the glass ceiling with a pair of outrageously expensive titanium derailleur pulleys developed in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute. The price tag is a whopping US$1,000 (£660) – but hey, at least you get two.(http://i.imgur.com/1SEhgRt.jpg)
CeramicSpeed builds the pulleys using a 3D printer, which allows for a hollow structure that otherwise wouldn’t be possible with conventional manufacturing techniques. In addition to supposedly being lighter than CeramicSpeed’s standard aluminium or titanium pulleys – saving a whopping 2g or so – the company also claimed a three-fold increase in durability...
ohmahhgaaawdd ( spelling? ) that RNC picture is so good. reminds me of great times in bmx!
...I visited MicroTek Finishing — a major player in the metal 3D printing world. While there, I spoke with Tim Bell, who related an anecdote about his time at Morris Technologies, the aerospace 3D printing giant that was acquired by GE in 2012. Tim was a product development leader at Morris, and he talked of a large bin that they had in their shop. It was called the “Bin of Broken Dreams”, and into it went an endless stream of failed parts.
My part has now been printed in six different build configurations. We (and, by we, I mean Dave Bartosik, whose creativity and enthusiasm for getting the build to work was inspiring) added solid supports in a number of places, chasing built-in stresses around the part with each iteration. The latest prototype, although nonfunctional, is nevertheless a big improvement on the earlier builds — and the process has taught us a lot about the idiosyncrasies of my design.
...
Build 3
(http://i.imgur.com/rt30O4z.png)
Build 3. The saddle clamp and bolt boss are both anchored, but the center of the part lifted.
Build 4
(http://i.imgur.com/PUiGd0I.png)
Build 4, heat treated & wire EDM’d off of the build plate. The bottom of the part is distorted & lifted. The purple color comes from the heat treatment process.
...
Build 6
(http://i.imgur.com/1T4e4mY.png)
Build 6. The part is basically round, but has a bulge in the middle of the seatmast clamp.
(http://i.imgur.com/RpaacEP.jpg)
Build 6, with the bulge clearly visible on the bottom edge.
Throughout each of these builds, three things have remained consistent. First, the surface finish on the exterior of the part leaves much to be desired; it will definitely need to be finished in a separate step. Second, the surfaces that needed to be EDM cut from their solid supports (the saddle clamp and the bolt boss) are irregular, and will need to be smoothed into the rest of the part. Third, the internal diameters will almost definitely need to be post-processed by machining or EDM — even the saddle clamp, which, overall, had a passable surface finish, was undersized by .020″ — about four times the desired variance.
The net effect is that after six build iterations — each of which took almost two full days to set up, build, stress-relieve, and cut off of the build plate — we still don’t have a functional prototype to test...
This titanium structure for a brake on a competition bicycle is hollow, improving performance and reducing weight. Production with DMLS took 11 hours, a significant cost and time reduction compared with casting.
Here is a new "Lumberjack Slam" handlebar...it's 9" X 32" and the same weight as a normal Slam XLT thanks to our new "Honeycomb" crossbar design. We are also working a a whole frame with this new 4Q Baked tube set. Stay tuned...we'll have it at Interbike.
http://forums.mtbr.com/frame-building/foolys-major-glory-822434-post10669926.html#post10669926
09-10-2013
The linkage is DMLS (direct metal laser sintering), 6/4 titanium and its hollow! I was originally looking at doing an investment casting. However for just one part no one wanted to switch over to the high quality metal, and to make the bearing holes required secondary machining. Next I considered having the part CNC'ed, the cost was lower than having an investment cast plus the secondary machining.
I was working with a local prototype shop who specialize in small run stuff. But the salesman kept pushing to run this part on his new 3d printer. I had made parts in SLA (stereolathagrophy) and SLS (selective laser sintering) before for my regular job. But I absolute didn't want this part in plastic, no matter how good the process has improved since my last few time I had made some parts.
But this got me thinking, has SLA/SLS improved enough to start making parts in metal? After doing some research, indeed they do! And in Titanium! I was sold, I redesigned the linkage to take full advantage of the DMLS process. And there it is!
I sold mine to Laz. I want that sprocket back! $20we used that sprocket to anihlate a segway, ground was too sandy to bunnyhop so i just threw his bike at it as hard as i could, lol
This is an incredibly interesting post about a laser-sintered crankset. New methods & technologies are allowing us to manufacture quicker and easier than ever before!(http://i.imgur.com/bbfVaM7.jpg)
(Translated from German to English)
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.light-bikes.de%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D19755&edit-text=&act=url
from 2012; apparently this was his second set, but I don't feel like trying to find pictures of the others right now.
Laser Sintered Bicycle Crankset (https://assembly.com/minimal/posts/laser-sintered-bicycle-crankset)QuoteThis is an incredibly interesting post about a laser-sintered crankset. New methods & technologies are allowing us to manufacture quicker and easier than ever before!(http://i.imgur.com/bbfVaM7.jpg)
(Translated from German to English)
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.light-bikes.de%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D19755&edit-text=&act=url
(http://i.imgur.com/izAPAQf.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/tCcCmfd.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/4g24n1W.jpg)
(http://imgur.com/ZfYor8K.jpg)
(http://imgur.com/dFLZklA.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/ao3cOjK.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/mvFCh6X.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/hpGXs3P.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/7bDzGFZ.jpg)
beefier splined/pinchbolted set
(http://i.imgur.com/IE5NKyL.jpg)
All that thought and effort to use a square taper still?!?!?
:)
G.
http://29in.ch/post/1053995422/crankset-done-by-3d-laser-beam-melting-the-neo
The neo crankset was manufactured through 3D laser beam melting (also known as selective laser sintering) to achieve a feather-weight set of merely 220 grams. Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a manufacturing technique...
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=125323&start=15#p1110807(http://i.imgur.com/RO3Mhid.jpg)
3d printed cassette section for testing I've just made, material is Stainless steel.
http://forums.mtbr.com/singlespeed/rear-disk-brake-adapter-314985.html
(http://i.imgur.com/ecDTUFV.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/2Pg5Gcp.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/wolrM77.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/La5t0Nq.jpg)
April 16, 2015
...weights approximately 15 pounds...
The price for the final product has not yet been set, but is expected to cost a hefty 500,000 to 700,000 Japanese Yen ($4200 – $5900) for the frame alone...
June 5, 2015
...The designers paid particular attention to the design of the handlebar because it has a major influence on the aero performance of the whole bike thanks to its position at the front.
“Behind the spacers for the arm rests, a low pressure zone is generated, because of the transition between the parts,” says Pinarello. “A proper design of this zone helps to reduce this, and consequently the drag.
“Standard technologies, such as CNC or carbon molding, would be excessively long and expensive to produce this particular shape, so we used an Additive Manufacturing method (also known as 3D Prining) to manufacture a titanium handlebar.
"In the additive manufacturing technique a high energy source locally melts the powdered material (typically metal), as defined by a 3D model, binding the material together to create a solid structure.
“The capabilities of this technology allowed [us] to produce a small batch of handlebars, everyone different from the other… This method will now be used to provide a similar service to Pinarello customers via the MOST parts brand.”
July 09, 2015
...Bastion is a new start-up consisting of three R&D engineers from Toyota Australia. The company will soon start to produce custom, lightweight and performance-orientated road frames that feature titanium 3D printed lugs and spun carbon tubes.
Bastion is not the first to create bikes with 3D printed titanium technology, with the likes of Empire and Flying Machine having done so for over a year now, but Bastion’s intended streamlining of the customization process is a first.
Speaking with Dean McGeary, Bastion’s technical director, we were told of an agreement they have with the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) for 3D printing.
“They’ve set up a center of excellence in 3D printing called Lab 22. They’ve just gone live as of July 1st and we’ll have full access to the lab that’s really close to us,” said McGeary...
early prototype
I would fall right off that bike in post 81. Wtf aerojust think of the high-speed nosewheelies...
July 12, 2015
...Among others who have been exploring the applications of additive manufacturing with metals in their craft include Australia’s Bastion Bicycles, a new start-up consisting of three R&D engineers from Toyota Australia. Currently, the engineers are developing a system for producing custom, lightweight and performance-orientated road bicycle frames that use additive manufacturing to produce titanium lugs and spun carbon tubes.
While they aren’t the first bicycle maker to explore the possibilities of additive manufacturing in bicycle frame production, a recent agreement that they have with the nearby CSIRO Lab 22 (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) for using their state-of-the-art 3D printing facility is intended to help them streamline the process of bicycle customization.
“3D printing is really exciting. It allows complete customization by the user; the frame geometry and ride is fully customizable” says Dean McGeary, Bastion’s technical director.
“We’re putting ribs in the titanium (lugs); with this we can tune the compliance and stiffness of the bike. If you want a really compliant ride, we can take ribs out, if you want a stiff and aggressive bike, we add in ribs.”
Bastion’s first 3D printed bicycle model will be a disc brake-equipped road bike that will weigh approximately 850g and feature modern accessories including flat mount disc brakes and thru-axles. According to McGeary, the company will offer customers the ability to choose their bicycle frame’s stiffness and compare it to similar bicycles on the market - such as the Specialized Venge - through the use of an online tool.
Perhaps most importantly however, are the frame’s safety standards. According to McGeary, all of the frames that the company produces will be tested using the international standards of EN 14781 and ASTM F2711–08(2012). Additionally each frame will go through the company’s own rigorous testing process which includes an FEA (finite element analysis) analysis to ensure dependability before final approval from the customer.
“We’re hoping to go live toward the end of this year. We’ll be producing a wide range of bikes to do detailed testing on and once we’ve validated the design – we’ll go live with sales,” added McGeary.
After launch, the company is planning to deliver fully-assembled custom bicycles within four weeks of a customer’s order based on their specified measurements. Of course, the added customization doesn’t come cheap - the custom 3D printed bicycle frames will start at AU$7,000 - however the price does include a lifetime warranty and a crash replacement policy for individual parts.
http://www.bastion-cycles.com/index.html
First EBM prints
http://pencerw.com/feed/2015/7/4/first-ebm-prints
2015.7.4
A few weeks ago I visited Addaero Manufacturing, one of the very few EBM (electron beam melting) service providers in the US. After my recent trials (and successes) with laser powder bed fusion, I wanted to try building parts with EBM. EBM is used extensively by aerospace and medical OEMs, but its penetration into the job shop world is way behind laser. Addaero, whose founders (Rich Merlino and Dave Hill) both worked at Pratt & Whitney before striking out on their own, is located just a few hours from New York City, and they were gracious enough to build two parts for me to evaluate the process.
I'll be writing up a longer post on the unique design considerations that EBM poses, but for now I wanted to share the pictures I took while there: ...
CT Scanning of 3D printed parts...
http://pencerw.com/feed/2015/6/10/ct-scanning-of-3d-printed-parts
June 22, 2015
A few weeks ago I visited CIMP-3D by invitation of its co-director, Dr. Tim Simpson. I was there partly just to visit (I love these kinds of places), but also to see first-hand the role that CT scanning can play in non destructive testing of additively manufactured parts.
CIMP-3D is located at and operated by Penn State University, and serves as part of Penn State's Applied Research Lab - and as an Additive Manufacturing Demonstration Facility for DARPA. In aggregate, they help both government agencies and commercial partners qualify and improve parts made by powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition. In their well-equipped shop, they have two powder bed fusion machines: an EOS M280 (EOS calls their process "DMLS", a term that I continue to get flack for using generically :) and a 3DSystems ProX 200 (3DSystems calls their process, which was developed out of their 2013 acquisition of Phenix Systems, "DMP" - for "direct metal printing). For their work on directed energy deposition, they also have an Optomec LENS MR-7 (a laser based powder deposition machine), and until recently had a Sciaky EBAM (a large scale wire fed electron beam welding machine, which had been sold just prior to my visit).
While I was excited in see their directed energy deposition machines, the real attraction was their GE phoenix v|tome|x m300 CT scanner. This machine is made by GE Measurement & Control division, which is part of GE's Oil & Gas business unit (it should be noted that I've done consulting for both M&C and O&G, though not for the people who make CT scanning equipment). CT scanners are *expensive* (close to $1M, depending on options), and are basically unheard of in private service providers. They can be used to analyze both the as-built form of a part (which will often deviate from the as-designed form significantly), and also any flaws (cracks and voids) which would make it unusable.
Before I visited CIMP-3D, Corey Dickman (an R&D Engineer there) was kind enough to print one of my seatmast toppers, in aluminum, on their EOS M280. It came out well, with only a small defect in the seatmast clamp area. Corey used some pretty clever support structures, tapering them in order to provide a balance between a solid grip on the plate on the one hand, and relatively low material usage on the other: ...
Neodymium pawls are 3D printed. Note the embedded circular magnets that acts as springs
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/inside-the-workshop-of-kappius-components-36402/
This framework model was 3D printed without outer layer, thus bionic details are visible: such as the lattice structure at the bottom bracket, the connection concept of the middle strut and the edge reinforcement on the seat tube. http://elise.de/documents/ELiSE_AM_web_DE.pdf http://www.industrieanzeiger.de/singapore/-/article/32571342/40865255/Leichtbau-bionisch-%E2%80%93-aber-mit-System/art_co_INSTANCE_0000/maximized/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/citim-gmbh(http://i.imgur.com/JDqzOS6.jpg)
2010 ... the University of Warwick is partnering with the University of Wolverhampton on the assessment of laser sintered titanium for hydraulic components such as manifolds, many of which contain complex fluid flow channels... http://dumpt.com/img/files/vdl7l472korohz6ceftq.png http://www.machinery.co.uk/machinery-features/additive-manufacturing/26036/(http://i.imgur.com/0BGh66C.png)
http://startline.org.uk/slol87/wlv/wlv.htm "A thin skinned hollow bike brake handle in aluminium - staggeringly light."(http://i.imgur.com/I0uJ89a.jpg)
and I wonder if anyone will try integrated fluid lines...looks pretty similar to those chainstays, too...
(http://i.imgur.com/Z9GxGbW.jpg)
http://www.3ders.org/articles/20150818-google-partially-3d-printed-humanoid-atlas-robot-goes-on-successful-walk-in-the-woods.html
In part, the successes have been realized through extensive experimentation with lightweight 3D printed parts. Raibert revealed that in the current state of the robot, the valves for the hydraulic fluids, as well as the shells and lattice structures on the Atlas’s legs have been improved by 3D printing them. While it isn’t known if the final edition will feature 3D printed parts, the technology is thus obviously playing a major role in development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwrjAa1SgjQ
How much do you think a ti 10t antigram driver would cost? How much do you think it would cost 18mo fr now
this thread, a similar thread on bmxmuseum, and my imgur album are seriously the #1 source for printed bike stuff on the whole internet, as far as I can tell after looking for 2+ years now. nobody else posts more than two or three bikes/parts at a time, and they all still leave it up to plastic conjecture. you can spend hours/days/months searching different terms and still not turn up a fraction of the pictures I've put together here... Those retarded 3D-doodler pens get more attention than this stuff...
seriously, what the fuck.
Antigram driver has the bearing race built in so Titanium really isnt a good choice. Even if it were, it would need to be ground after printing to get the surface finish necessary, so you might as well just machine it.this would be closer to 18 years from now, but eventually a ti driver that fades into a hardened steel race would be neat...
NASA lab's gradient additive manufacturing technique melds two or more metals in a single part.
July 31, 2014
http://www.design-engineering.com/general/nasas-jpl-develops-multi-metal-3d-printing-process-132113
...This technique involves blowing multiple metal powders into a laser beam, so that the laser melts the powder and forms a small pool at the point where the laser touches the part that is being built...
http://www.steelguru.com/international_news/NASAs_JPL_develops_multi_metal_3D_printing_process/345699.html
NASA's JPL develops multi metal 3D printing process
sunday, 03 Aug 2014
researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory say they are in development of a 3D printing technique that allows for print jobs to transition from one metal to another in a single object...
“We’re taking a standard 3-D printing process and combining the ability to change the metal powder that the part is being built with on the fly. You can constantly be changing the composition of the material.”
According to the researchers, the process is based on Laser Deposition technology, in which metal powder is injected into a high powered laser beam that melts the surface of the target object to form a small molten pool. Powder applied to this pool is absorbed and leaves a deposit as thin as 0.005 in. thick. These densely bonded layers can then be used to either build or repair metal parts.
In JPL’s technique, the build material’s composition is gradually transitioned as the print progresses. For example, the powdered build material might contain 97% titanium alloy and 3% stainless steel at the beginning of the transition. Then, in 1% increments between layers, the gradient progresses to 97%stainless steel and 3% Ti alloy by some defined point in the overall 3D printing process.
The main benefit in addition to testing the metallurgical properties of new alloy compositions is to take advantage of the differing physical properties (i.e. thermal expansion, magnetism or melting temperature) of the two or more metals in one solid component.
http://blogs.hotrod.com/space-metal-we-get-a-sneak-peek-at-nasas-3d-printed-metal-alloys-132213.html
September 25 2014
Using a modified version of the laser-melted powdered metal process, JPL has figured out how to make gradient metal alloys, both in a linear shape and with radial forms.
Spacely's Orbiting Ore Asteroid is a plant mining and manufacturing sprockets in space(http://i.imgur.com/fEEQCh7.jpg)
Oct 2, 2015
https://vimeo.com/140895362
“This technology is the only one that allows us to achieve these kinds of complex forms,” said Dubois. “We are only at the beginning, and we can still improve the product with more research on energy distribution and flow.”
(http://i.imgur.com/XICANAL.png)
2015.9.30
This has been a long time coming.
For what it's worth, I had the idea before either Triple Bottom Line or Bastion launched - but I'm fully aware that that doesn't buy me shit. At its core: build titanium 3D printed bike frame components, and use carbon fiber tubing for areas that are too big to practically print. This avoids the crazy crowded build chamber (and inefficient glue joints) that Renishaw/Empire's bike required, and utilizes AM for what it's good at - making customizable, low-mass parts that fit easily on a build plate.
I thought about this for a *long* time, but only this week spent some time modeling my design spaces in Inventor and poking at the lattice generation process in nTopology Element. This is still far from manufacturable, but it was great to spend a day working through how to design and customize each design space in a way that was repeatable and simple...
...I spent a *tiny* amount of time setting up lattices for each printed component in nTopology Element today. This is extremely preliminary,...
(http://i.imgur.com/HTTK1nX.png)
Oct 5, 2015
New York state will invest $125 million to build the world's first industrial-scale 3D printing facility as part of a private-public partnership with Norway's Norsk Titanium AS, according to sources familiar with the deal.
A groundbreaking for the plant is expected in late October or November in Plattsburgh, New York, about 160 miles north of the state capital of Albany, said the sources, who could not speak publicly before an announcement by the state.
They said the plant is slated to be fully operational by the end of 2016 when it will be able to "print" large components for aircraft manufacturers and weapons makers at much lower cost than current technologies.
September 3, 2015
Alcoa announced today it is investing $60 million at its Westmoreland County technical center to expand its 3-D printing capabilities.
The aluminum and titanium producer said the new facility will focus on developing metal powders to use in 3-D printing as well as advancing the printing process and product design. The initiative will target the aerospace market as well as customers in the automotive, medical, and building and construction markets.
...just a bit more on the amorphous stuff...Quotehttp://www.rntbike.com/...
http://reviews.mtbr.com/interbike-road-not-taken-flex-fit-108-flat-pedal-with-float/rnt-foil-tape
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/interbike-2014-tech-fest-special-nerd-worshippers-edition.html
Road Not Taken is a South Korea based start-up company that manufactures simple products that are beautifully crafted and engineered. Their titanium hardtail fame is pieced together using printed lugs, brazed to ultra-strong 6-4 alloy tubes, using a material that has only been available to the public for three years. Amorphous titanium - http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2004/ch_7.html - has no grain structure, as most people understand it, and thus becomes almost as viscous as water when it liquefies. RNT wraps a thin ribbon of amorphous titanium around the tubes at each junction and then heats the frame in a vacuum oven until the ribbon melts and bonds the tubes to the lugs. The result is a one-piece titanium structure. I read about amorphous metal a few years ago when The Wall Street Journal announced that Apple had purchased the rights to use the patented process from Liquid Metal - but until Interbike, I had never touched the stuff.
(http://i.imgur.com/Tt35CHF.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/pdz7fVF.jpg)
...
Oct 19, 2015
...The appeal of making amorphous metals comes precisely from the randomized cellular composition. That is, the material, being made up of tiny fragments, like grains of sand, have a stronger, harder, and more fracture resilience than regular metals because of the lack of pattern in their composition, so to speak. While metals in their regular crystalline structure tend to break along lines of their cellular structure, the amorphous metals would have no pattern to break along. As Dr. Liou explains, “The smaller the grains, the stronger [the SAM] is.”
The hope is that it will be possible to create new materials with 10 times the strength of conventional metals, which would ultimately lower the amount of material actually needed to produce an object, the weight of the material, as well as production costs. Liou is confident this is where their research is heading. He adds, “If you can have the next breakthrough in materials, you can have a lot of changes.”
For their research, Liou and Sarangapani have been given a $146,758 grant from the National Science Foundation...
http://news.mst.edu/2015/09/researchers-use-3-d-printer-to-make-new-materials/
...Amorphous metal is stainless and gives good mechanical properties such as high strength. Traditionally designed structural steel is an average of 300 megapascals, but can be up to 2,000 megapascals. Titanium, which is often used with the EBM technology, located at 900-1000 megapascals. They now known amorphous metals have a strength of up to 5,000 megapascals. The iron-based amorphous metals Exmet work with is 4000 megapascals...
...In the current situation works two groups are working to develop the manufacturing method. The first group is arranged in the Vinnova project "Improved spring performance - mechanical springs of amorphous steel" and is carried out at Mid Sweden University in Östersund. This one uses a Arcam machine running electron beam, known as EBM technology. One of the characteristics that amorphous steel gives high elasticity, which is examined in the Vinnova project with positive results.
- In preliminary designs on a spring, we have gone from a standard spring of two kilograms to 0.2 kilograms in the optimized spring of amorphous steel, with the same effect, says Mattias Unosson...
(http://i.imgur.com/EPG5iKp.jpg)
3D printed titanium dropouts from Reynolds tubing.(http://i.imgur.com/5xHbBuv.jpg)
http://blog.wheelism.co.uk/?attachment_id=1105
http://forums.mtbr.com/frame-building/3d-printing-bicycle-industry-912782-post11914475.html#post11914475
04-20-2015
"Was chatting to Reynolds at the Bespoke show this weekend and they are about to produce a 3D printed titanium and stainless drop out set. By 3D printing they can make it hollow with internal support struts. Looked lovely and really organic. They said they were hoping to hit a price point around £130 which isn't bad compared to machined parts. "
http://forums.mtbr.com/frame-building/3d-printing-bicycle-industry-912782-2.html(http://i.imgur.com/81HS3NN.jpg)
03-25-2015
"Stainless steel. Still under development and torture test. I would need to figure it out the oval shape... it's possible to do. The structure design is everything for rings and I'm trying many many options always looking for the lightest and strongest. It's been fun."
this shit is the mother fuckin future
steel
(http://i58.tinypic.com/dy0ynn.png)
Oct 29, 2015
A team of five TU Delft students are working on 3D-printing a bicycle. Advantages of a 3D printed bicycle is that the bike can be made exactly every individual’s specifications and it is cheaper than a traditional bike.
The bike frame is made out of stainless steel, newspaper AD reports. This means it is heavier than the current aluminium bikes. But that does not mean this will always be the case – 3D printers are capable of working with all kinds of organic forms and using different materials can result in a lighter bicycle.
This bicycle is the successor of the previously 3D printed bridge, which will be placed in Amsterdam in 2017. It forms part of a collaboration between Technical Universities and the Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan solutions, in which TU students work on printing practical objects from everyday life.
“We are now printing full-time”, Stef de Groot, one of the students working on the bike, said to the newspaper. “I expect the bike will be complete in two to three weeks.”
This is still just an experiment however. Commercial production is still far in the future, according to Jouke Verlinden, professor of Industrial design at the Technical University.
26/10/2015(http://i.imgur.com/BhDXpkx.png)
...For safety the printing was totally enclosed in dark welding curtains to protect the visitor’s eyes. We managed to stick a poster of renders of the bike to one of the welding curtains so that people could at least see what we were printing even if it was not possible for them to watch the printing itself...
...a functional prototype is already in the works, and was revealed today at the Detroit Auto Show, where its four-wheeled, Wall-E-esque body zipped around on the showroom floor. In order to ensure that the Audi Lunar Quattro is rugged enough to withstand a lunar landing and then continue to face the elements throughout its journey, Audi and the Part Time Scientists have been working with metal 3D printing technology, constructing nearly the entire rover out of 3D printed aluminum and titanium.
3D printing also enabled the scientists to manufacture special hollow structural components to route the wiring—something that would not be possible with CNC milling or other traditional manufacturing techniques. “It's not possible from the axis of freedom," said Robert Böhme, CEO of PT Scientists. "The parts are like one millimeter thick.”..
..showcased the first ever 3D printed object from asteroid metal as a sort of proof-of-concept of what might be common in space mining in the future.(http://i.imgur.com/eEyGrbi.jpg)
The raw material used for the 3D print was taken from an asteroid sourced from the Campo Del Cielo impact crater in Argentina and is made up of iron, nickel, and cobalt. From there, parts of the asteroid were pulverized and powdered..
ABS plastic prototype of dreamcatcher bike stem. Optimized for titanium
January 12, 2016(http://i.imgur.com/RdTsjjD.png)
...ITRI has also developed a monitoring process for what they hope will one day lead to active feedback during the printing process. Currently, manufacturers of just about every metal printing system (potentially excluding the MetalFAB1 from Additive Industries, but we’ll see) are only building towards a closed-loop for quality control, implementing sensors and software to tightly regulate the print process, but still relying heavily on trial and error. So, while ensuring that the printed part matches the specifications of the designed model is possible, it often involves adjusting the printing parameters over and over until repeatability is achieved.
ITRI is also working on its Optical Engine for Material Grain Microstructure-Controlling AM Technology and developing hardware and software for controlling the microstructure of printed parts, so as to manipulate the physical properties at different points throughout a component. Dr. Ji-Bin Horng, Senior Principal Engineer of the Laser and Additive Manufacturing Technology Center, explains, “We are studying the use of laser for micromaterial processing for possible applications in various industries. For instance, we can imprint in such a way as to generate heterogeneous microstructures. Take an aluminum part, for example. We can change the material properties, so that, near the center, we can enhance the hardness of the part. And, along the perimeter, we can enhance its ductility against high temperature fatigue. For this technology, this year, we were among the 19 finalists of the 2015 R&D 100 award for process/prototyping.”
In a separate machine, the team was able to implement the femtosecond laser technology for a variety of surface finishing techniques that were truly impressive. Dr. Horng holds up a business card holder with colored details on its face.
(http://i.imgur.com/4vN8yIK.jpg?1)
“We used a femtosecond and nanosecond laser on this substrate to generate many different colors,” he says. “Then, we use a 3D printer to generate these 3D characters. We use the microstructure to cause different patterns of diffraction, controlling how it diffracts the light, to create different colors. We can use our lasers to create different surface finishing to generate many different colors.”
When I asked if this same laser technology could be used to remove prints from their substrates, as well as clean prints as a part of post-processing, he responded with a confident “Yes,” adding, “We can even use our laser technology to polish parts.” He was quick to point out that this was an entirely separate machine from the 3D printers they’d made, but Tzong-Ming Wu believed that it was feasible to combine the two technologies, some day, so that the printer could create a layer, then polish that layer, and so on, to create an even more accurate form of hybrid manufacturing...
http://www.medicalplasticsnews.com/downloads/89/download/Fraunhofer%20Laser%20Polishing640x480.jpg?cb=6126ddc97cfccadbc40cc1134acf283d
http://www.medicalplasticsnews.com/technology/fraunhofer-ilt-perfects-fast-laser-polishing-of-titanium-implants/
...laser polishing is 30 to 40 times faster than manual polishing...
...Unlike in conventional processes, the edges are not rounded off when polished with lasers, thus guaranteeing a high geometrical accuracy of the component. Another advantage of laser polishing lies in its far cleaner and more environmentally friendly process. In contrast to manual polishing, no polishing or abrasive materials are used, leaving no chemical residues...
February 3, 2016
...Its frame was built in several main sections, which were then welded to one another by hand.
Called the Arc Bicycle, the finished product is claimed to weigh about as much as a traditional steel-framed bike, and is fully capable of being ridden on rough cobblestone streets.
"It was important for us to design a functional object that people use everyday," says team member Stef de Groot. "Being students in the Netherlands, a bicycle naturally came to mind. A bicycle frame is a good test for the technology because of the complex forces involved."
Arc Bicycle | 3D-Printing stainless steel(http://i.imgur.com/3GMpTeg.jpg)
Published on Feb 3, 2016
A student team from TU Delft in the Netherlands designed and produced a fully functional 3D printed stainless steel bicycle. The students achieved the goal of their three-month project by printing the frame with the help of MX3D in Amsterdam. The Arc Bicycle is the first ever 3D printed metal bicycle to be produced using a welding process.
Not titanium, but 3D printed, and really cool. http://hackaday.com/2016/01/11/3d-printed-tourbillon-clock/ (http://hackaday.com/2016/01/11/3d-printed-tourbillon-clock/) shows a 3d printed Tourbillon Clock, I found it really impressivehere's a partially-ti one for only $143,000
February 26, 2016
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...The new Vamoots Disc RSL borrows the front end of the rim brake model and adds an entirely new rear end with 3D printed dropouts. The parts, which have been in development since May 2015, are being made by I2M in the UK. It uses the flat mount disc brake standard with 142×12 thru axles. What’s striking is how smooth the design is.
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While the main frame is internally butted 3/2.5 titanium, the dropouts are 6/4 powder. Why make them this way? Because, Moots says, it would take so long to machine a piece to their specs, it would be more expensive. The 3D printed parts are also lighter, and it gives them this smooth, sculpted aesthetic you’ couldn’t get from traditional metalworking.
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An almost final version is shown here, and they expect to start shipping the bikes by June 2016.
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The printing also allows them to easily create channels for Di2 wiring. The lower half’s end has a male design that inserts into the chainstay.
(http://i.imgur.com/h9c61t0.jpg)
The upper side has a rounded profile that lets them attach the seat tube at varying angles depending on frame size. They’ll make two different size dropouts to cover the full range of frame sizes...
(http://i.imgur.com/5rAPwS2.jpg)
2/29/2016(http://i.imgur.com/kdG6bCP.png)
The Métier Vélo Winter Training Bike is a disc brake road bicycle with clearance for 33mm tubular tires. The relatively short 420mm chainstay, 73˚ seat and head tube angles, and stiff tubes provide a responsive ride. Seventy millimeters of bottom bracket drop and 48mm of fork rake give a stability on long, rough descents. Cosmetics are printed directly into the lugs or bonded to the frame. The Black-Ti finish of marine vanish and wax protects the carbon composite from UV and is easily refreshed. Displayed at NAHBS 2016!
Frame features 3D-printed 6/4 titanium lugs ...
The objective of the research was not merely to show off how small a mountain could be 3D printed, but to demonstrate that these nanoscale 3D printed objects can in fact in mass-produced. This is an important finding, as large numbers of microscopic 3D structures—which, when found in nature, often exhibit special properties—could be used to improve industrial machine manufacturing.
Each 3D printed Matterhorn model is only around seven hundredths of a millimeter, making its height less than the thickness of a sheet of paper. Image via PSI.
For instance, Helmut Schift, leader of the research project at PSI, provides the example of a snake. “Many species of snakes are able to glide over sand without significantly wearing down their skin,” he explained. This is because the snake’s skin is covered in scales and ridges measuring just a few thousandths of a millimeter high. These 3D structures reduce friction in one direction, protecting the snake even if it is traversing rugged ground.
“One could imagine furnishing machine parts that are exposed to powerful stresses through friction with a similarly structured surface,” continued Schift. Covering a machine part—or perhaps even a vehicle, or body armor—in nanoscale 3D printed structures would thereby minimize its wear and tear and extend its lifespan.
(http://i.imgur.com/hnVHCwZ.jpg?1)compare that stuff to how easy it is/literally any basic description of how to anodize titanium/how it's just perceived coloring...
An image of a squirrel, printed on a thin film using the new ink
While most of us may not give much thought to the dyes used in color inks, they are in fact often quite toxic. That's why scientists at Russia's ITMO University have developed a more eco-friendly alternative – a non-toxic ink that produces different colors by altering the nanostructure of the material to which it's applied.
Such "nanostructure inks" work in a manner similar to certain surfaces found in nature, including butterfly wings – they reflect light in such a way that the light frequencies interfere with one another, causing the surface to appear to be a given color.
In collaboration with the Rice University, Texas De Wilde made a substance that absorbs nearly all light that falls onto the material. He made a piece of art called 'Hostage' that is 144 times blacker than black.
During his research, De Wilde contacted the U.S. space agency NASA. Unexpectedly, he was given accesses to the laboratories of NASA, where he works with Melotte, the 3D printing company located in Zonhoven. This time his work went further with the 3D printed sculpture 'M1ne #1', with NASA and Melotte's technology involved. The 'M1ne #1' is based on geological data from Limburg. Melotte Zonhoven translated 2D plans of the mine to a complex, print-ready 3D model, and then printed it out in titanium. It was coated in a specific way with carbon nanotubes consisting of graphene using NASA's technology.
The sculpture is an example of optical illusion: it is a 3D structure but you have the illusion of 2D because there is no reflection. It is so deep black that it seems that you are looking into a black hole...
March 18, 2016
Once solely the stuff of dreams, prototypes, and engineering experiments, metal 3D printing is finally starting to trickle into bicycles that people can actually buy. Moots and Reynolds both previewed 3D-printed dropouts at this year’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show, while two builders — Bastion Cycles and Métier Vélo — have based their entire frame designs around the technology. What once was the stuff of science-fiction movies is quickly becoming reality, and an entire new world of possibilities has opened.
Fully custom geometry from Bastion Cycles and Métier Vélo
It still isn’t practical to build complete frames on a 3D printer. The printers are too small, for one, and there’s no advantage to using the technology for simple tubular structures that are better served by more conventional manufacturing methods. However, that hasn’t stopped Bastion Cycles and Métier Vélo from using 3D printing’s advantages where they make the most sense: at the joints.
Both companies are taking a similar approach, using 3D-printed 6/4 titanium lugs bonded to pre-formed carbon fibre tubes. The benefits are the same from either outfit: the possibility of fully custom geometry with no additional tooling costs, along with the ability to create structures that otherwise wouldn’t be possible (or practical) through forging, casting, or machining.
“Performance-wise, [3D printing] enables us to really manipulate not only the external shape of the titanium. to get stiffness and strength into it, but on the inside, we’re able to manipulate the structure with things like lattice work and ribs and variable wall thicknesses. to put the strength where we need it,” Bastion Cycles co-founder and managing director Ben Schultz told CyclingTips. “This means we can achieve the weight and stiffness and strength of a carbon bike, but using titanium, which, when we use it selectively at the nodes, actually creates a better ride comfort than if it were carbon fibre.”
Indeed, Bastion Cycles’ single initial model — a disc-brake equipped road bike — could easily pass for a moulded carbon composite frame, had the company chosen to cover the structure in paint. The printed titanium lugs are artfully sculpted with character lines rarely seen in metal frames, and with a surface finish that’s remarkably smooth for a printed part. Those lugs are then bonded to filament-wound carbon fibre tubes.
Métier Vélo, on the other hand, still highlights the lugs’ 3D-printed origins, but with shapes more reminiscent of classic steel, with scalloped and pointed sleeves as well as the company’s stylised fleur-de-lis logo integrated right into the surface of each lug. While the adjoining tubes are still carbon fibre, Métier Vélo founder Jamie White has opted for roll-wrapped tubes from Rock West Composites, located nearby in South Jordan, Utah.
“[3D printing] is total design freedom,” White told CyclingTips. “This kind of approach is ideal for small custom builders because it costs the same to do one bike as ten bikes. There’s no real economy of scale.”
“One thing I’m offering is free repair or replacement,” he added. “If anything happens to the frame, I just want people to bring them back. [Repairs are] pretty easy to do. If there’s a dinged carbon tube, I can just replace the tube and if there’s any titanium damage, I can just reprint the parts. It’s a nice way to build a bike from a repair and durability perspective.”
White takes a consciously conservative approach to his frame design, using lugs that he considers “overbuilt” by supplier GPI Prototype & Manufacturing Services, with wall thicknesses ranging from 0.75mm to 1.5mm depending on location. Likewise, whereas many carbon fibre frames have paper-thin tubes you can literally squeeze between your fingers, the tubes White sources from Rock West measure a stout 1.3mm. Even the bond surface areas are three to four times what White considers to be necessary for the applied loads.
“There’s about 400-600g of titanium, and the rest is carbon,” he said. “The software package I use has some finite element analysis in it. All of the lugs are way overbuilt. That’s one of the things I consulted with GPI about. The modelling I’ve done shows that the carbon tubes will break before the bonds or lugs give out.”
White has some destructive testing planned for later this year that will likely allow him to pare his frames down a bit, but even then, he doesn’t plan on ever catering to weight weenies.
“Because I use more more titanium and carbon than is minimally necessary, my frames probably won’t ever be much below 1,100g or so,” he said. “There’s about 400-600g of titanium, and the rest is carbon. My goal is to make tough, durable, and repairable frames that perform well. If someone wants a 550g climbing frame, I am not their builder.”
Based in Melbourne, Australia, Bastion Cycles is being far more aggressive in what it can produce, using lugs with walls as thin as 0.5mm while also incorporating ribs, cross-members, and lattice-like internal structures that it says adds measurable strength and stiffness. Claimed frame weights are impressively light, right around 1kg, a substantial 200g lighter than Métier Vélo’s. However, Bastion is more comfortable flirting a little closer with the edge of reliability thanks to a full battery of in-house ASTM durability testing, a distinct rarity amongst the hand-built crowd.
Bastion Cycles is also highlighting the capabilities of its flexible manufacturing techniques with an extremely clever online configuration tool that lets potential buyers customise their frame’s geometry and build kit as well as its ride quality, stiffness, and projected tire clearances — all with an instant estimate of the final frame and complete bike weights. The online tool also generates a nifty graphic that visually compares the current selection with other well-known industry benchmarks.
In either case, riding on the cutting edge of bicycle frame manufacturing technology won’t come cheap. Métier Vélo is currently selling its frames for a whopping US$8,500 with a Chris King bottom bracket and headset; Bastion Cycles’ frame is a comparative bargain at AU$7,500 including a Whisky No.9 carbon fibre fork, headset, and bottom bracket.
3D-printed dropouts from Moots and Reynolds
Moots and Reynolds also showed off 3D-printed bits at NAHBS, and while neither project is quite as ambitious as what Bastion or Métier Vélo showed off, you’re far more likely to see one of these out in the wild. Both are being printed by i2M in Birmingham, UK.
Moots is using the technology for flat-mount, thru-axle rear dropouts on its latest disc brake-equipped road, gravel, and cyclocross frames. According to company president Butch Boucher, the 3D-printed dropouts allow for internal structures that wouldn’t otherwise be possible using more conventional manufacturing techniques, and should make for more consistent final products.
“The thing that we were really challenged by, looking at flat mount, was that it would be asymmetric in terms of where the welding goes on the chainstay,” said Moots president Butch Boucher. “All titanium expands and contracts when you weld it, and it also contracts more than it expands, so it’s going to move if you’re asymmetrically doing something. So here we have an opportunity to symmetrically weld — we can maintain alignment through the whole process so much better.”
“The consistency of the product is our biggest goal,” Boucher continued. “We make quite a few frames a year relative to everyone [at NAHBS]. When you’re doing onesies, you can kind of manipulate things and deal with them one at a time, [but] we need to have a consistent product from start to finish. It’s like a chef in a big, good restaurant. He’s got a crew on the line that he knows is going to create a consistent product. Part of that is what the recipe is, part of it is the ingredients, and part of it is the skill set of his crew. To have it be the same every time is the biggest challenge we face.”
Similarly, Reynolds is also using 3D metal printing to produce flat mount-compatible rear dropouts, although in this case they’ll be offered in both 6/4 titanium and steel — in both thru-axle and quick-release wheel interfaces — and they will be available to any frame builder who is interested in using them. According to Reynolds, its new 3D-printed dropouts will offer strength comparable a 2D-forged part along with drop-in compatibility with existing frame building fixtures.
Reynolds hopes to have them available to builders as soon as April or May, at a cost of around US$180-200 per pair.
Moots isn’t offering its dropouts to other companies, but Boucher says that while they’re not exactly inexpensive to make, they likely won’t add much — if any — cost to end consumers.
“If it’s not net zero, it may cost us just a little bit more. It’s not cheap but it saves us multiple steps.”
Seen this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRU6h46eAmg
I kind of struggle to see how a phone screen can fling out enough light to cure resin quickly and accurately enough, when our little sla machine uses some sort of death laser and still takes a while... Cool if it does work though.
Seen this?I haven't seen it/that video until now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRU6h46eAmg
I kind of struggle to see how a phone screen can fling out enough light to cure resin quickly and accurately enough, when our little sla machine uses some sort of death laser and still takes a while... Cool if it does work though.
I'd be psyched if it's real, especially for the potential metal casting stuff, but it feels like a setup for a shitty old joke...
May 20, 2016
http://www.lightrider.apworks.de/#!en/dkqv3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fad7zXGR85c
APWorks, a subsidiary of Airbus Group, has built a fully functional 3D printed motorcycle. The vehicle, which has been dubbed the ‘Light Rider’, is made from APWorks’ Scalmalloy material and weighs just 35kg.
(http://i.imgur.com/Nl5x16w.jpg)
Ever since APWorks first announced the creation of Scalmalloy, a high-strength aluminum-magnesium-scandium alloy, the Airbus subsidiary has been keen to show off exactly what the material can do. First came this super-lightweight, 3D printed airplane partition, and now an entire vehicle has been made from the stuff. The Light Rider is, admittedly, smaller than your typical Airbus vehicle, but before the aerospace giant 3D prints half its future airplane fleet, this 3D printed motorcycle, unveiled today in Ottobrunn, Germany, demonstrates just why Airbus and APWorks have so much faith in the potential of Scalmalloy. “With the Light Rider we at APWorks demonstrate our vision of future urban mobility,” said engineer Stefanus Stahl.
Weighing in at just 35kg, the 3D printed Light Rider is around 30% lighter than conventionally manufactured e-bikes, can zoom from zero to 45km/h in just three seconds, and has a top speed of 80km/h. The secret to the impressive bike is its 3D printed frame, which weighs just 6kg, part of the reason for the vehicle’s 60km battery life. Although its appearance might take some getting used to, the topologically optimized structure of the frame is designed to eliminate mass where it is not required. APWorks actually developed a special algorithm, inspired by bionic structures and natural growth processes, to work out where material could be eliminated and where it needed reinforcing. The result is a skeletal, almost organic-looking structure, with not a gram of surplus material in sight.
According to APWorks, the lightweight, optimized, 3D printed frame could not have been produced using any other manufacturing technique: “The complex and branched hollow structure couldn’t have been produced using conventional production technologies such as milling or welding,” explained Joachim Zettler, CEO of APWorks. “Advances in additive layer manufacturing have allowed us to realize the bionic design we envisioned for the motorcycle without having to make any major changes. With these technologies, the limitations facing conventional manufacturing disappear.”
APWorks has worked at the forefront of additive layer manufacturing (ALM) and advanced materials since its launch in 2013. "3D-printing technologies have revolutionized the design and manufacturing process – not only in terms of structure and aesthetics, but also in impressive weight savings on parts and equipment," says the company.
To create the incredible 3D printed frame, APWorks used a selective 3D laser printing system to distribute the Scalmalloy powder in layers just 60 microns thick. By 3D printing these parts, APWorks was able to create unusual shapes and reduce mass, while also reaping the other rewards of a bottom-up manufacturing approach: many of the Light Rider’s 3D printed frame parts are hollow, which allowed the designers to integrate cables, pipes, and screw-on points directly into the motorcycle body.
Scalmalloy, the aluminum-magnesium-scandium alloy used by APWorks to create the Light Rider’s frame, is a corrosion-resistant material which purportedly exhibits titanium-like strength. Designed specifically for additive manufacturing purposes, the material combines strength with a high level of ductility, making it ideal for robotics, aerospace, and automotive 3D printing projects.
APWorks plans to build 50 more Light Riders, available to buy for €50,000 each. A €2,000 deposit is required to join the waiting list.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzIwtdyyfYU
Published on May 24, 2016
The R160 from Robot Bike Co is unveiled.
Robot Bike Co's CEO Ed launches customisable 3D printed bike frame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrTDapZVLUk
Published on May 27, 2016
At an event held at the Renishaw Innovation Centre in Gloucestershire, Robot Bike Co's CEO Ed H. launches the R160, a customisable mountain bike frame.
June 01, 2016
Here we have what is undoubtedly one of the most advanced bicycle frames ever created – and yet you’ve probably never seen or even heard about it.
Produced as a joint collaboration between UK firm Mirada Pro, tubing specialist Reynolds and framebuilder Ted James Cycles, the frame is currently a one off that demonstrates a new direction for the people behind Mirada Pro.
Taken from design to manufacture in just eight weeks, the frame uses multiple 3D-printed titanium lugs that are welded to custom titanium tubing from Reynolds.
The frame has yet to be ridden and is currently awaiting EN testing
Look closer and you’ll see 3D printed titanium lugs make up the head tube, bottom bracket, dropouts and top tube/seat tube intersection. These lugs have been welded to custom drawn titanium tubes from Reynolds in a 53cm frame that emulates the geometry of a traditional alloy road bike. The result is a sub-1kg (999g) frame that Mirada Pro claims offers improved torsional stiffness over a comparable alloy item.
The design also allows for welds to be moved away from high stress areas, and for the surfaces destined for welding to be simplified. Less parts and reduced machining times mean that manufacturability should be improved while costly tooling can also be done away with.
The potential of 3D printing in bicycles is yet to be fully realised but below is a decent example of how the technology has made a big impact among other industries – this one's from the world of aerospace.
(L) CNC part is 50% heavier and wastes 68% more material than the 3D printed component (R)
(http://i.imgur.com/RutOguO.jpg?1)
The metal component to the left was traditionally CNC milled from a large titanium billet. On the right is the redesigned version of the same component, and one that’s optimised for 3D printing. Compared with the original design, the 3D-printed part offers the same strength and stiffness but is 50% lighter. Better yet, the economy of the process is on another level: the CNC process producing a remarkable 70% of waste material compared to just 2% from the 3D printed part.
...
In the case of this frame, Mirada Pro used the load figures a frame needs to achieve in order to pass EN safety tests, which engineers then input into their CAD program. The program then interpreted how much titanium powder needed to be where in a formation that would provide the correct strength but with minimal material. Just take a glance at the CAD drawing below and you’ll notice large vein-like structures that pass through the design. These structures have largely been depicted by the software used to design the frame, and you can see directly how they translate to the finished components..
...
Titanium actually works out to be the cheapest material that Mirada Pro works with, even though the machines are capable of producing identical parts from alloy or stainless steel, both would be considerably more time consuming in the printer, remember - time = money. In fact, printing with aluminium takes twice as long as it does with titanium...
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(http://i.imgur.com/LrWLmul.jpg?1)
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Aug 10, 2016
...French prototyping and additive manufacturing company Erpro & Sprint collaborated with the French Cycling Federation (FFC) and aeroacoustic wind tunnel facility GIE S2A to realize the project.
...Each set of handlebars, and there were seven in total, were 3D printed out of a lightweight aluminum material using SLM Solutions’ SLM280 selective laser melting system. In addition to the lightweight material, the handlebars were also designed to incorporate an interior lattice structure...