Engineering students at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have teamed up with the Amsterdam-based 3D-printing company MX3D to 3D print a stainless steel bike frame. The Arc Bicycle, as it's called, weighs about as much as a regular steel-framed bike and is sturdy enough to ride on the cobblestone streets of Amsterdam.
MX3D developed a 3D printer in 2013 that uses a robotic arm to build objects by depositing resin on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, unlike most 3D printers which can only build up objects on a horizontal surface, layer by layer. Recently, MX3D used that same model to create a 3D printer than can craft metal objects in midair and expand in any direction without supports. By depositing blobs of molten metal and then waiting for them to harden before adding another blob, the 3D printer can create large, intricate structures.
MX3D approached Delft University to work on a project to showcase the potential applications of their multi-axis 3D printer. The bike frame is the result of that project. The frame of interlacing metal columns was originally 3D printed as several sections that were then hand-welded to each other. MX3D also plans to 3D print a footbridge over a canal in Amsterdam sometime in 2017.
"3D printing has exploded in popularity in the last decade, but for those wanting to print medium- to large-scale objects, there are still significant limitations in the technology," said Harry Anderson of the Arc Bicycle team in a press release. "This method of 3D printing makes it possible to produce medium to large scale metal objects with almost total form freedom."
Source: Delft University of Technology via Gizmag
Jay Bennett is the associate editor of PopularMechanics.com. He has also written for Smithsonian, Popular Science and Outside Magazine.
