MX-6 Evo Is World's First 3D Printed Bicycle
MX-6 Evo is the world's first 3D printed bicycle developed using metal 3D printer - yep, the printer that prints metallic 3D parts which can be assembled to form structures. The 3D printing was handled by Renishaw - UK's one & only manufacturer with metal-based additive manufacturing machine capable of printing metal parts using CAD designs. Called 'MX-6 Evo', the bike was designed by Empire Cycles to make the most out of the metallic 3D printing capabilities of Renishaw. The team together created a titanium frame for the bike using various 3D printed parts.
A special alloy of titanium was used for printing. Titanium allows for the much required high ratio of strength/weight - ideal for mountain bikes. Renishaw's special laser cutting machine, AM250 was used for the job. A high power laser, called ytterbium fiber laser was deployed to burn the alloy powder to meld individual parts together. An adhesive was used to form the final structure for the bike.
The MX-6 Evo bike design allowed for 33% reduction in weight as compared to the regular Aluminum version along with 6x the overall strength. The bike will be available for display at the London Bike Show.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
