Arevo to display ‘world’s first’ 3D-printed carbon fibre bike frame & rim at Eurobike
Silicon Valley-based company Arevo has announced it will display the world’s first 3D-printed carbon fibre unibody production bike frame at next month’s Eurobike show.
The frame will be presented on Oechsler AG’s stand (Hall A1, 508), a manufacturing partner of Arevo, alongside another world’s first; a 3D-printed thermoplastic rim designed by Eurobike Gold Award-winning industrial designer Bill Stephens of StudioWest.
The firm will offer demo rides on an e-Bike featuring this frame and material during the show, which next week will see a (currently unknown) bike industry leader in the Netherlands incorporate the technology into a new e-Bike frame design.
Arevo describes itself as a company that is ‘redefining global composites manufacturing through digitalisation’ and has already made headway in the bike manufacturing industry, specifically within the area of urban mobility.
The company’s Arevo DNA technology is seemingly unique in the additive manufacturing world, due to its patented software algorithms which enable generative design techniques, free-motion robotics for ‘True 3D’ construction, and direct energy deposition for virtually void free construction, all optimised for anisotropic composite materials.
In laymans terms, this technology process takes the design and final manufacture of a bike frame from around 18 months to just a few days. Other benefits include greater freedom of design for bike manufacturers, on-shoring to create greater independence for brands, and a fully-automated production model.
Leading US market research firm, Verhelst Associates, discussed the rise of digital technology and 3D printing with CI.N at the tail end of last year in tandem with its report The Bicycle Industry: A Conundrum For Domestic Manufacturing, which looked at using the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies as a possible alternative to traditional bike manufacturing scenarios.
Stephens has worked closely with Arevo for over a year, and will give a presentation at Eurobike titled ‘3D Printing Carbon Fibre Frames for Production’ on the 5th, 11-11:45am.
He said: “Arevo DNA offers a new paradigm for product designers, it forever changes how we can design and build anything. This technology allows us to push design boundaries in a way that was impossible until now. Arevo is changing the paradigm to ‘Manufacturing for Design’.”
Eurobike takes place 4-7 September in Friedrichshafen, visitors can still register here.
