MX3D builds lightweight aluminium bicycle frame using WAAM technology

MX3D, the Netherlands, has reportedly built a lightweight aluminium bicycle frame – the Arc Bike II by using Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) technology. This is the second WAAM bike frame produced at MX3D, following the production of a stainless steel frame designed by the students of TU Delft.

To make the aluminium bike frame design tailor fit to the proportions of the rider’s body, MX3D team has used generative design software. The design was then translated by MX3D’s proprietary software into instructions for its robotic welding arm, allowing the frame to be built with twenty-four hours.

Then a smart fixture set-up was developed which would allow any custom WAAM frame to be prepared easily for riding. According to MX3D, their new aluminium bicycle frame is one of many structures which showcase how the company’s WAAM software can be used for flexible on-demand Additive Manufacturing.

WAAM steel bridge in central Amsterdam and the WAAM frame of the Cucuyo café installed at the Perez Art Museum Miami, Florida, are some of the former projects by MX3D to demonstrate the capabilities of WAAM technology.