{"id":23629,"date":"2016-02-22T18:21:56","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T18:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=23629"},"modified":"2017-04-17T12:09:17","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T16:09:17","slug":"designing-folding-bicycles-using-3d-printed-aluminum-an-interview-with-mark-walker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/designing-folding-bicycles-using-3d-printed-aluminum-an-interview-with-mark-walker","title":{"rendered":"Designing Folding Bicycles using 3D Printed Aluminum: an interview with Mark Walker"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mark

Mark testing his 3D printed aluminum parts in the field<\/p><\/div>\n

A month ago we launched our 3D printed Aluminum. Since then we’ve seen some amazing products come into our factory. Here’s just one example.<\/p>\n

Mark Walker of Montague Bikes<\/a>\u00a0has been using Shapeways for their their high quality full sized folding bikes. I spoke with Mark to discuss the advantages of 3D printing with Shapeways and how Montague Bikes using our aluminum to prototype their unique bicycles that combine performance with compactness.<\/p>\n

Can you tell us a little about Montague Bikes and your role in the company?<\/b><\/p>\n

Montague is a medium sized bicycle design and distribution company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While a number of companies in our industry focus on selling commodity products, Montague focuses exclusively on products where we have developed the technology from the ground up and own the IP. My role is heading research and development, and some in-the-field testing.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/p>\n

How has Shapeways helped you create innovative prototypes for bikes?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Shapeways has been a tremendous value to us by shortening\u00a0the\u00a0lead time from concept to product testing. Before, it would take months to CNC complex\u00a0parts,\u00a0often\u00a0to find they did not fit the bill. Now, in a matter of days,\u00a0Shapeways prints\u00a0our\u00a0parts initially in plastic\u00a0\u2013 enabling us\u00a0to quickly evaluate the\u00a0form and fit of\u00a0the concept.\u00a0This alone is an incredibly valuable step where we can evaluate human interaction much more effectively than we could in traditional CAD\/CAE environments.\u00a0 Once we feel comfortable with this stage,\u00a0we have Shapeways print in metal\u00a0–\u00a0usually\u00a0only requiring a few weeks.\u00a0Upon validating\u00a0printed metal parts, depending on the project, we can often go straight to production, skipping CNC altogether.<\/p>\n

\"image004\"<\/p>\n

What advantages do you see for using our new Aluminum?<\/b><\/p>\n

Most of the quality bicycles and accessories sold in our industry are made of aluminum. Having the ability to print in aluminum has been tremendous because it\u00a0accelerates our path to\u00a0production. It allows us to test the\u00a0function<\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0new designs\u00a0without\u00a0either the long lead time of traditional metal prototyping or\u00a0the\u00a0inherent weakness\u00a0of\u00a03D-printed\u00a0plastic. In addition, in some cases we\u2019ve welded printed aluminum parts\u00a0to existing\u00a0bike\u00a0frames, something you can\u2019t do with other\u00a03D-printed\u00a0materials.<\/p>\n

\"image008\"<\/p>\n

Do you have any recommendations or advice for designers who are new to using our Aluminum material?<\/b><\/p>\n

I would recommend printing\u00a0in plastic first, which allows for pretty rapid iterations if the project warrants it. \u00a0Once ready to print in metal,\u00a0the nice thing about Shapeways aluminum is that it is DMLS processed, which has enabled us to perform post machining (e.g. tapping threads) as well as welding \u2013 in order to evaluate the function of certain parts in the larger context of our bicycles.<\/p>\n

\"Allston-Folded-Final-sm\"<\/p>\n

The bikes Mark is developing look incredible, and they’re only one of the products that Shapeways helps bring to life everyday. With the industrial strength and lightness of 3D printed aluminum the possibilities are endless. What will you design and create?<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Mark Walker and Montague Bikes<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A month ago we launched our 3D printed Aluminum. Since then we’ve seen some amazing products come into our factory….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":23884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[489],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products-and-design"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Paratrooper-Elite-Wheelie-sm-625x415.jpg","yoast_head":"\nDesigning Folding Bicycles using 3D Printed Aluminum: an interview with Mark Walker - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A month ago we launched our 3D printed Aluminum. Since then we've seen some amazing products come into our factory. Here's just one example. 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