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Red Bull Showcases Backyard Ingenuity With The Fettler Series, Demonstrating 3D Printed Carbon Fiber & More

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Red Bull is featuring a bunch of home-made bikes in their Fettler video series. Red Bull explains that a Fettler is “an individual craftsman or group of craftsmen committed to achieving perfection via hands-on moulding, sculpting and working of raw materials. Typically found in sheds.”

Adrian Smith uses 3D printing technology to manufacture make carbon fiber bikes in his shed. He starts by printing the cores for his designs, and then lays carbon fiber over the core to create a solid, structural object.

Design software is becoming easy to use and attainable for most people, and 3D printers can be had for just a few hundred dollars. Smith’s built his own 3D printer up from parts to keep it really cheap. Since starting, he has used his design skills, printer and carbon fiber fabric to build XC and Downhill bikes under the Carbon Wasp brand name in Leeds, UK.

Take a look after the jump for the first in the series about Michael Thompson’s 1000 hour investment into a wooden bike…


www.redbull.com
 

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Drew Diller
9 years ago

I like both these guys quite a bit.

Vincent
9 years ago

Whaou ! I’ve thought of the exact same idea as Mr Smith for some time, it’s really nice to see someone doing it in reality !
I would have love to know more technical details though.

anonymous
anonymous
9 years ago

Not 3d printed carbon fiber.

NASH
NASH
9 years ago

What part of the carbon is printed?

ralph
ralph
9 years ago

Nothing.

The 3D printing is for the mold the carbon layers are placed into. Much cheaper than milling a mold out of aluminum or another material.

mudrock
mudrock
9 years ago

So the mold is then wrapped with carbon sheets and then melted out? Or does the mold stay in the frame?

Matt
Matt
9 years ago

@mudrock the mold comes out.

if it doesn’t, the frame will be drastically heavier than a regular carbon frame.

This is NOT 3D PRINTING CARBON FIBER (deleted).

If you want to talk 3d printed Carbon, Check out MarkForg3d. That technology is far more interesting and promising.

I’m not trying to downplay what Adrian Smith is doing. Its not easy, but its a 3d printed mold not 3d printed carbon fiber….

Argh
Argh
9 years ago

3D printing is … expensive gear and time consuming. But for individual project – cheaper way to go.

Matt
Matt
9 years ago

@Argh yea 3d printing is sort of expensive.

Its actually very cheap when considering uses to make money.

Like the guy featured in the post. The hours and hours of labor and materials he would need to make quality forms easily is paid off by the printer.

In terms of any kind of business, $1000-2000 is really nothing

Gavin Stewart
9 years ago

I got beaten to it! I have been experimenting with building and repairing carbon frames using 3d printed parts for about a year to two years now. Gotta use this as motivation! This really is the future. Calfee is already doing it with their custom lug program. One twist that ive been playing with is water soluble or lumene soluble filaments, meaning that I can melt the mandrel out of the part after I have applied and cured the carbon fiber. This means extremely clean internals, exact placement and orientation of fibers/pieces, and no leave in bladders or restrictions due to bladders. Can not wait to see more of builders like The Carbon Wasp pop up, even if in an idealistic future I want to be vying for the same cyclist’s attention.

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