Headmade Materials, the creator of the metal 3D printing technology Cold Metal Fusion (‘Metal SLS,’ and Element22, a titanium part production specialist, have collaborated once more to additively create titanium components for frame manufacturer Tom Sturdy’s Fiadh titanium road bike.
About the Collaboration
That’s what Tom Sturdy envisioned when he created the Fiadh model. The imaginative and technology-loving frame maker from England had previously gathered a lot of knowledge with metal additive manufacturing and recognised the added value of Cold Metal Fusion technology (CMF) for his bespoke bicycles right away.
The Fiadh is a sporty road bike that doesn’t mind going fast. It’s extremely light and responsive, thanks in large part to weight-optimized titanium components produced with CMF technology. Fiadh (pronounced fee-ah) also means “wild” or “free,” which matches perfectly with the design possibilities of an additive design.
The frameset is made out of connections that were additively printed using CMF technology and welded to polished tubes. All important bike components, such as the handlebars, saddle, and bottom bracket, are accommodated by these connectors. The chainstay is even composed entirely of additively printed components using CMF technology. CMF is also used to make the crank arms, which Sturdy now sells as part of a standalone crankset.
Each bike’s individual segments are fairly similar in structure and design, yet no two are alike. All components are distinct in their proportions due to a concept of linking pieces tailored to the rider, which has been economically achievable in big volumes with CMF technology. Sturdy Cycles’ goal for the Fiadh is to generate annual quantities in the triple digits.
The benefits of CMF technology are primarily reflected in the superior process stability and reproducibility that results in easier and more efficient frame and part manufacturing for Sturdy.
Furthermore, when compared to SLM parts, metal parts have less stress. Because CMF technique does not involve mechanical removal of support structures from the component, the enhanced part surface substantially simplifies surface finishing.
The reduced amount of preparation work for Sturdy components compared to SLM components represents a considerable increase in efficiency, since components can be introduced into the bike manufacturing process much more quickly. Furthermore, higher component quality implies that the majority of the work may be done on-site at Tom Sturdy’s production facility, lowering costs and facilitating collaboration with service providers.
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