New Titanium Manufacturing Process.

       A huge leap forward in bicycle frame manufacturing happened, very quietly, in the English countryside recently. "Charge Bikes”, a builder of some very nice frames and arguably the best titanium cyclo x bike frame on the market at present, has teamed up with the European Aeronautics Defense and Space center and come up with a completely new manufacturing process for titanium.
      Basically the process uses a sophisticated 3D modeling program to create a layer by layer printed guide, which is then used to print onto powdered titanium. Each of these layers is fused into the powdered titanium, gradually building up the part. With this method they are able to produce designs that could not be produced by any other method.
      The video below shows the process in action producing some shaped, hollow, dropouts, for use on their new 'Freezer' cylo x bike. The possibilities are truly endless and I can see countless parts being manufactured this way. Another benefit is the lack of waste material. Traditionally, when we manufacture a part, we start with a block and whittle it away until we end up with the shape we need. Even casting, which is a little less wasteful, still has quite a bit of cleaning up and filing to complete. With this new ‘printing’ method only the powder that is printed and required is used.
       Check out the video and visit www.chargebikes.com