First ‘Production Ready’ 3D Printed Carbon Bicycle Frame Launched
There have been various announcements and samples of 3D printed bicycle frames for five years now.
But until now, no-one has claimed to have a 3D printed frame that is production ready.
The frame at the centre of this new claim was developed by Italian technology company Atala which is 50% owned by the Accell Group, one of the world’s largest bicycle companies.
It was displayed at this year’s EICMA bicycle and motorcycle show in Milan, Italy which ran from 7th – 10th November.
“This new production technology will change the market for both carbon and alloy frames,” said Atala’s R&D technician Marco Borgonovo.
The main advantage of printing a carbon frame in one piece is the speed of production. With this technology the production time can be limited to 10 minutes only, a huge difference compared with conventional carbon frame manufacture, which requires a lot of hands on labour and is very problematic to automate.
The frames are made in Taiwan, though the Atala spokesman could not reveal the name of the production company.
Most of this article and the photograph first appeared in Bike Europe.