The world's first titanium frame bike

With its light weight and good strength, titanium is the best material to produce bicycle frames. However, the obstacle is that the titanium chassis is quite expensive. In an effort to reduce production costs, recently two companies in the UK have teamed up to create the world's first titanium bike frame thanks to 3D printing technology.

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Renishaw Additives manufacturing company has partnered with Empire Cycles to build titanium frames and apply only to the MX-6 Evo mountain bike . In addition, Empire also revealed that it will produce the MX-6 version of aluminum alloy chassis in the near future.

When making the frame, Empire used the AM250 laser metal melting machine manufactured by Renishaw. In the manufacturing process, high-energy Ytebi fiber laser machines are used to combine titanium alloy particles together into layers. 3D printers will take care of making continuous layers superimposed on each other and forming parts of the frame. After that, the parts are bonded together with adhesive.

Because titanium has a thicker density than aluminum, its weight is also heavier. Therefore, to make a lighter frame, people have to use as little titanium as possible. To do this, Empire has used topology optimization software. The software will evaluate the structure of each of the chassis parts through computer-built models to distribute titanium in the most appropriate way to ensure the best bearing frame and still be lightweight.

The final product of the fabrication process is the Evo chassis weighing only 1400 grams, 33% lighter than the aluminum frame. In the seating weight tolerance test, titanium frames can withstand 6 times the weight of standard European mountain bike (EN 14766). The frame still continues to undergo further tests to assess the frame's stamina.

So the issue of production cost, why can this project produce cheap titanium frame frames? The most basic factor is thanks to the process of melting materials with laser technology. This is the most economical method because the amount of titanium powder that is not used in every frame will be reused.

In addition, the software will optimize the melting and blending process to ensure the minimum amount of titanium used. In addition, people do not need to use many machines for many different frame models. All models are made by a single 3D printer.