As part of a collaboration with Trickstuff, a provider of bike-related products, machine manufacturer TRUMPF produced titanium brake levers, showing this way the potential of its metal 3D printing machines for the bike industry.
Brake levers are usually made of aluminum processed by CNC machines or milling and carbon as another high quality material. Here is the thing, milling is time-consuming and expensive whereas carbon has a poor environmental record. Manufacturers cannot recycle carbon; they must dispose of these parts after their life cycle, usually in waste incineration plants.
However, as the bike industry has already demonstrated its compatibility with AM, more and more part manufacturers turn to Titanium for the production of bike parts. This material has a better environmental footprint compared to carbon and is also far more robust. Manufacturers can make much stiffer brake levers from titanium compared to other materials.
Manufacturers can use 3D printers to customize brake levers. This applies not only to the design of the titanium components. Manufacturers can also customize the lever forces of the brake to suit the cyclist. “Since 3D printers from TRUMPF are also designed for series production, the bicycle industry can also use them to manufacture large quantities. As a result, components that are subject to heavy stress can be produced cost-effectively,” says Christian Lengwenat, application engineer at TRUMPF.
TRUMPF 3D printers also allow companies in the bicycle industry to speed up their prototyping. “With 3D printers, manufacturers can produce different prototypes simultaneously in one printing process. This speeds up the prototyping process, which is important for the bicycle industry, many times over,” says Lengwenat.
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