General Electric’s Additive Manufacturing Division recently shared a story about how its GE Additive electron beam melting (EBM) technology is impacting the use of titanium in manufacturing cycling parts. The UK-based engineering firm Metron Additive Engineering is known for designing and producing handlebars used by Olympic cyclists and competitive racers through additive manufacturing. The company has already produced over 100 handlebars for high-end bikes. According to founder Dimitris Katsanis—a former national cyclist for Greece—the future of additive manufacturing is in titanium.
In fact, Katsanisre calls the first titanium handlebar his firm ever manufactured.
“In 2015 Sir Bradley Wiggins wanted to do the Hour Record, for the longest distance cycled in one hour from a stationary start,” said Katsanis. “The bike was made from carbon fiber, but the handlebars were titanium, created using a GE Additive Arcam EBM machine. This meant that we could intricately modify them multiple times leading up to the record attempt.”
Carbon fiber plastic is currently still the most widely used material for the 3D printing of parts. Particularly for cyclists, its lightweight and durable characteristics make it ideal for competitions and long use. However, when Katsanis began experimenting using 3D-printed titanium parts, he was surprised to find that titanium was actually lighter compared to equivalent parts made of carbon fiber.
Katsanis stressed that making the handlebars from titanium wouldn’t be possible without additive technology.
“I realized that with 3D printing in titanium, it’s possible to put the material where you need it and remove it from the areas you don’t,” shared Katsanis. “Additive technology allows you to do things that you otherwise couldn’t. It’s partly design and partly engineering. Additive has allowed me to take 25 years of composite engineering experience and make more dynamic, organic shapes with more complex designs.”
However, additive manufacturing still has a long way to go before it becomes part of the mainstream bicycle manufacturing process. GE’s EBM technology is gradually working toward achieving this—just as it made titanium handlebars possible with Metron.
“The EBM process allows us to stack components one on top of the other with the ability to make a lot of components in one build,” explained Katsanis. “So, in general, we can make components lighter, but the specific benefit of EBM is its efficiency, meaning our products are more price competitive.”
Katsan is also added that computer-aided design (CAD) technology will become even more significant in designing and manufacturing, possibly eliminating the need to create multiple prototypes. This would shorten the time to market and get models to consumers faster.
Metron is currently looking to expand its technology into the medical and aerospace industries. Katsanis shared that he sees mass customization as the future of additive manufacturing as 3D printing slowly becomes more accessible.
“I would really like to see additive technologies evolve and trickle down to everyday products. By showing that we can mass customize tens of thousands of bike parts annually, we are demonstrating that it is possible to produce components in large quantities with additive technology,” Katsanis said.
For more information on GE’s EBM technology, visit https://www.ge.com/additive/.
For more news and stories, check out how the next generation of engineers are preparing for the rise of additive manufacturing here.