Date: May 10, 2021
At the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show in 2018, Reynolds Technology Ltd, with Renishaw PLC and Independent Fabrication (IF), built a stainless steel bicycle frame using optimized 3D printed parts (Reynolds, 2018, February 16). This part utilized the Additive Manufacturing process to enhance the part that could not be achieved through normal manufacturing methods. The benefits is a simpler frame fabrication with matching tube-sets (Figure 1). The mechanical properties has a high stiffness-to-weight ratio while reducing frame-builder fabrication operations. Not only were frame parts 3D printed, high-stress components such as the yoke of the rear triangle, dropouts, and BB-shells.
References
Reynolds. (2018, February 16). Reynolds 3D Print Project Collaboration – Bike Frame Optimisation. https://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/reynolds-3d-print-bike-frame/