Empire Cycles
Complete bike with 3D printed titanium alloy frame and seat post bracket. Designed by Empire Cycles using Renishaw metal additive manufacturing technology.
British engineering juggernaut and additive manufacturing pioneer Renishaw is gearing up to exhibit at the new MACH 2014 3D printing zone.
This will be the first time MACH - the UK's largest event for manufacturing technologies - will be championing 3D printing in its own dedicated area and as the UK's only manufacturer of metal additive manufacturing machines, Renishaw's presence is key.
The company's laser melting additive manufacturing systems utilise Renishaw's ground-breaking processes, which are capable of producing fully dense, complex parts from a suite of metal powders including titanium, aluminium and tool steel.
Renishaw's stand in the 3D Printing Zone in Hall 4 of MACH 2014, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham from April 7th-11th, will showcase a range of examples of how additive manufacturing is being put to use by various companies and industries, including Renishaw's collaboration with Bolton-based Empire Cycles, which led to the first 3D-printed bicycle frame.
Empire Cycles designed the mountain bike so it would best compliment Renishaw's additive manufacturing technology. The finished product was produced using a titanium alloy that would be both strong and light using topological optimisation. Individual sections have been bonded together and the new frame is approximately one-third lighter than the original.
Moreover, Renishaw's additive manufacturing expertise has contributed to the production of key prototype parts for the BLOODHOUND Supersonic Car, which will make its 1,000 mph land speed barrier attempt in summer 2015.
The BLOODHOUND - which will also be on display at MACH 2014 - features a nose tip built using Renishaw technology and has been made to withstand forces of up to 12 tonnes per sq m. The titanium prototype tipis bonded to BLOODHOUND's carbon fibre monocoque body, which forms the front-half of the car.
Additionally, following the acquisition of LBC Laser Bearbeitungs Center in May of last year, Renishaw now has the ability to offer additive manufacturing services such as design and simulation and can contract manufacture metal prototypes and production parts.
TCT + Personalize is organising the 3D printing conference at MACH 2014 on April 8th from 11:30 - 13:00. Anybody with an interest in this maturing technology is welcome to sit in and witness top presentations from some of the industry's foremost thinkers and innovators.
