3-D Printed Bicycles – The New Future of Cycling?

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There is no doubt that 3-D printing has taken off in the last decade for many industries, improving access to custom parts and unique prototypes. While this is not the first 3-D printed bike frame (Empire Cycles), it is certainly the first with this unique design.

A student team from TU Delft in collaboration with the MX3D engineers designed and printed this fully functional Arc Bicycle from stainless steel. The bicycle was designed as part of a research project at the AMS Building Fieldlab into the viability of WAAM, Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing, a 3D printing technique based on MIG welding, that allows for multi axis printing.

“For those wanting to print medium- to large-scale objects there are still significant limitations in the technology,” said Harry Anderson from the 3-D Building FieldLab team at TU Delft, “This method of 3-D printing makes it possible to produce medium- to large-scale metal objects with almost total form freedom.”

We think that it is really cool to see companies and people embracing the larger applications of 3-D printing technology. While this form of 3-D printing is not quite ready to go to a consumer level, it is truly amazing how far the technology has come and where it’s going.