Transcript Press release Issued by The WAAM 2015 Arc Bicycle

Press release
Issued by The WAAM 2015 Arc Bicycle Team, 3D Building Field Lab TU Delft
Robots 3D print stainless steel bicycle, designed by students from TU Delft
A student team from TU delft in the Netherlands has designed and produced a fully
functional 3D printed stainless steel bicycle. The result of a research project
undertaken at the Industrial Design Engineering 3D Building Field Lab into metal
3D printing using a welding machine. The students achieved the goal of their 3month project by printing the frame of the bicycle with the help of MX3D in
Amsterdam. The students say the frame was designed as a proof of concept to
demonstrate the potential of this new method of 3D printing.
"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. This method of 3d printing makes it possible to produce medium to large
scale metal objects with almost total form freedom."
In a video about the production process, the students prove the frame's strength by
riding the bicycle around the city of Delft. Weighing in under 20 kilograms, the bike
rides like any other, performing well on the often bumpy cobblestone streets of the
city. The first of its kind and the students hope that others will build on their research
when designing 3D printed bicycles in the future.
“It was important for us to design a functional object that people use everyday. Being
students in the Netherlands, a bicycle naturally came to mind. A bicycle frame is a
good test for the technology because of the complex forces involved."
The frame was printed with the help of MX3D, an R&D Startup in Amsterdam who
specialise in multi-axis 3D printing. The company has developed a ground breaking
method for using multi axis robotic arms as 3D printers. This allows metals and
resins to be printed mid-air in any direction without the need for support structures.
The company made world news last year when it released plans to 3D print a steel
bridge in Amsterdam. MX3D invited the students to use their equipment to create
something to showcase the new technology and that would help test the print
software they, together with partners such as Autodesk and Arcelor Mittal, are
developing for the bridge project.
About the student team
5 students made up the Arc Bicycle team:
Harry Anderson (Industrial Design, RMIT University, Melbourne).
Stef de Groot (Industrial Design Engineering)
Ainoa Areso Rossi (Civil Engineering)
Sjoerd van de Velde (Mechanical Engineering)
Joost Vreeken (Aerospace Engineering)
The project was coordinated by Dr. Jouke Verlinden, principal scientist of the 3D
Building FieldLab & Researcher on Human-Centered Digital Fabrication at the
Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.
Weblinks:
http://mx3d.com/
http://mx3d.com/about/partners/3d-building-fieldlab/
http://waam2015.weblog.tudelft.nl
Acknowledgements
This project was hosted by the 3D Building Field Lab at MX3D, supported by TU
Delft and Amsterdam Institute of Advanced Metropolitan Solutions.
Q and A with the team:
Can you tell us a little more about the process?
The printing process used to produce the frame is known as Wire and Arc Additive
Manufacturing (WAAM). The method also allows for muli axis 3d printing, using
articulated robot arms because of the self-supporting nature of the material.
The development of the arc bike was documented by the students in a weblog.
Is the bicycle heavy?
It weights slightly more than a normal steel bicycle, yet less than 20 Kg. Our main
concern when designing the frame was the strength. We didn’t know how the material
would behave, so we chose to make it extra strong and sacrifice a bit of weight. Our
frame proves it’s possible to produce a bicycle frame in this way that was our goal.
How does it ride?
We tested the bicycle on the streets of delft and it performed well. It offers quite a
smooth ride. The wheel base and the low centre of gravity of the bicycle make it
easy to take fast turns. It has a fixed gear configuration which was the most
elegant solution for us as its primarily a concept bicycle.
How long did it take to print?
Effective printing time was around 100 hours but the time was split up over
several weeks.
If you have more questions or would like to arrange an interview with the
team or our coordination please use the contact information on the above
page.