Laser Sintering Moves Into the Bike Market

By on February 7th, 2014 in Usage

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As metal additive manufacturing techniques continue to increase the fidelity of the parts they produce, more industries are beginning to experiment with the technology.  

Lending proof to the notion that laser sintering isnā€™t just for the aerospace and oil industries, Empire Cycles, in conjunction with UK engineering and prototyping firm Renishaw, have debuted the world’s first 3D printed bike frame.

While manufacturers have printed minor bike components before, this new project is the first to create a complete mountain bike frame. Based on Empire Cycleā€™s MX6 design, Renishaw printed the frame in a number of segments and bonded them together to assemble the bikeā€™s geometry.

Printed in a lightweight, strong and durable titanium alloy, the bike also underwent a ā€œtopological optimizationā€ process which helped Empire refine the geometry of their frame and decrease material use.

Read more at

ENGINEERING.com

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!