3D printed titanium parts

[@ss4oLe]

the future of MTB frames is in carbon, not titanium....

[Sasper]

the future of MTB frames is in carbon, not titanium....

you somesort of prophet?

[alaskun]

Detroit To Get $140 Million Metals Manufacturing Institute

February 23, 2014

 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.

...

In one of his state of the union speeches towards the end of 2013, he hinted at this stuff...

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/transcript-president-barack-obamas-2013-state-union-address/story?id=18480069&page=4

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.

Fuck, I wish I knew how to do stock market stuff.


George, or any other smart people; Could you spend a few minutes looking into this "metalysis" stuff and tell me whether or not it's complete bunk?

[alaskun]

Funny I'd see this now, after just looking at this yesterday




http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/fabric-saddles-sonic-bonds-and-hyper-pins-40534/

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


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


The hyper-Pins are designed to interlock into the base of the saddle. This piece locks into the nose


The whole rail is designed to work like a leaf spring, adding comfort where you need it


This piece locks into the rear of the base



The rails locate into the base before being sonically bonded


The carbon base has slots to take the Airbus-designed 3D printed titanium rails


"Once they've been sonically bonded it takes 2 tonnes of force to separate them"



.....


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."

...

I want to see a whole pan printed in ti - pivotal or tripod - something with a flatland shape to it, with big soft/contoured holes like a mix of these...
 


+



+


shaped like a khe watanabe or old gt seats... just think of the sparks and finger cuts


I also want to see what they've actually done with stuff they were talking about two years ago

[G]

^^^ That is all really cool, but... saddles? Seriously? I just dont get why they are so crazily expensive and why there would be any need to get more weight off them. Surely comfort and efficiency are going to be way more important in a seat? I can easily imagine a road rider losing 1 or 2 % of their effort to seat movement, or becoming fatigued earlier because of discomfort, surely that is the main design criteria?


G.

[Admiral Ackbar]

roadies love really lightweight shit, even at the expense of comfort or efficiency, just look at the slew of manufactures that produce unpadded, rigid carbon saddles.

but with a 1mm thick shell and flexible rails i bet that is loads more comfortable than some other offerings

[barcodebilly]

Those airplane seats look uncomfortable

[alaskun]

I wonder how many people would pay for a titanium nokon cable. Like a polished rainbow/ti-dye/oilslick space whip that can start fires.



and I wonder if anyone will try integrated fluid lines...
















http://ride.io/news/empire-cycles-3d-printed-bike-mx6-evo/

http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/article/the-london-bike-show-2014-random-gallery-39975/1/

the logo extension bit bothers me

[G]

Integrated hydraulic lines would be slick, but a pig to setup and printed parts occasionally have issues with porosity that would be a killer...


G.

[alaskun]

INDUSTRY, a portland-based design consultancy, has collaborated with master builders Ti cycles to create solid - the first connected, 3D printed titanium bike.

http://i.imgur.com/OSBPslp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9o5DKf9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/79qHDuI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5F5kkZV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4jZXV83.jpg




I want to see more dropouts like these...

[alaskun]

ti grips?

[Admiral Ackbar]

that is some lame ass designer bro bullshit. frame, rear rack (that completely blocks the integrated light), and of course those fucking handlebars could have been implemented so much better.

design firms need to stay the hell away from bikes.

atleast whoever build it up did a good job installing the fenders

[alaskun]

these aren't ti, but are still pretty neat

 http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/retrodirect/Interesting http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/07/19/3d-printing-revives-1903-retro-direct-drive-pedal-backwards-to-go-faster/

[alaskun]

more steel stuff...


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026065713700936

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://www.3ders.org/articles/20130416-cyclists-innovate-high-performance-bike-parts-using-3d-printing.html

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."

[G]

^^^ Some good stuff there. I will have to look through it all properly later when I have time. Good to see that resolutions are continuing to improve. The bummer is still the need to machine bits for a proper fit or surface finish (like the pawl seats) but I guess at some point we will reach a magic number where the resolution is "good enough" in the same way that it did with Digital photos, and things will really ramp up.


G.