Fully 3D Printed Ti frame - what’s the impact here?

[EB]

I'm not convinced the economics tie out here, even for a PRC-based firm. The bicycle industry != aerospace.

There's also the issue of surface composition. 3D printed ti has a very rough surface texture compared to tubing, and I am not sure if polished finishes are possible. On bikes that mix 3d printed elements with tubing, bead-blasted or painted finishes are typical. The look is what I would call "industrial" - check out the lugs on the Atherton ti-carbon bikes, or Bastion, and imagine that surface texture over the entire bike.

[prototoast]

I think 3d printing of complete bikes will become common in the next decade or two, but I'm not sure titanium is going to be the material that drives that growth.

[Dude]

I agree, I'd say it'll be sooner that decades but pricing will come down and yada yada. Everytime 3d printing comes up, I'd like to see some brand (let's say Specialized) places 3d printers in stores so that if/when a proprietary part breaks, the shop can just print out a new one.

Der. hanger?
Headset top cap?
jockey wheel?

sure, just print it up to specialized specs.

Stem too long? Too short?

Sure just print it up to specialized specs.

[bicycletricycle]

Originally Posted by sg8357

Pratt & Whitney got a batch of contaminated powder, used to make GTF engine parts.
Now they have quite a mess to clean up.

https://aviationweek.com/mro/supply-...s-gtf-problems

Ouch

[duff_duffy]

It’s just a 6-7 billion dollar problem, oops.

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

Ouch

[unterhausen]

Turbine discs were 3d printed? Seems like the last thing I would 3d print. Okay, 2nd to the last, the stuff in the compressor seems worse.

Originally Posted by prototoast

I think 3d printing of complete bikes will become common in the next decade or two, but I'm not sure titanium is going to be the material that drives that growth.

I'm not sure, seems like printer time is still pretty expensive. But it seems to me that Ti is the most compelling material for 3d printing a bike. I'll admit I'm not aware of everything available though.

[Julien]

Such a great idea! That would be awesome. One can always dream.

Originally Posted by Dude

I agree, I'd say it'll be sooner that decades but pricing will come down and yada yada. Everytime 3d printing comes up, I'd like to see some brand (let's say Specialized) places 3d printers in stores so that if/when a proprietary part breaks, the shop can just print out a new one.

Der. hanger?
Headset top cap?
jockey wheel?

sure, just print it up to specialized specs.

Stem too long? Too short?

Sure just print it up to specialized specs.

[Carbonita]

Good perspective from someone who has actually designed a 3dp bike: Katsanas interview on the topic of the 1 hour record bike (fully 3dp) under Ganna & Bigham

https://youtu.be/7lVyeDzSwEo?si=gKA-7YO9hDnOJ7mJ

[StressStrain]

Originally Posted by Carbonita

Good perspective from someone who has actually designed a 3dp bike: Katsanas interview on the topic of the 1 hour record bike (fully 3dp) under Ganna & Bigham

This is very cool and a very nimble low volume use of additive manufacturing.

I still don't understand why some think big China production will do full frames this way. It's too slow for big volumes.

[redir]

Very cool looking smooth frame.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by StressStrain

This is very cool and a very nimble low volume use of additive manufacturing.

I still don't understand why some think big China production will do full frames this way. It's too slow for big volumes.

Even when you have dozens of printers running 24/7?

[mattscq]

The practical use for mass 3d printing though would be mass customization. The printer doesn’t care what it’s printing so they really could develop some sort of simple formula/algorithm that takes fit data that can spit out a custom geometry just as easily as stock.

[Carbonita]

Carbon Inc. resin printers currently mass produce saddle padding (e.g., spesh mirror) from a few globally distributed 3dp farms. Expensive ATM though.