Read Response Summary draft 1

 According to the article <<3D Printed Carbon Fibre Bicycle Frames>>. It costs more than 600 dollars for enthusiasts to make customized bicycle frames from traditional materials such as steel, but 3D printing technology provides a choice that has more affordability, efficiency and simplicity (Androole, ND, Custom 3D Printed Carbon Fibre Bike Frame, https://www.instructables.com/Custom-3D-Printed-Carbon-Fiber-Bike-Frame/).


Androole stated that building bicycle frames with the aid of 3D printing allows customizations on features and functions, such as comfort, stiffness, strength, efficiency, high strength-to-weight ratio and malleability, therefore carbon fibre is extremely suitable to make bicycle frames.


 According to Androole's blog, the final product has three groups of components, tubes, 3D printed joints, and outer reinforcement made of epoxy and carbon fibre. The materials of the tubes can even be bamboo as the final product will be reinforced by epoxy and carbon fibre. First, with the assistance of software like BikeCAD, alternative frame designs can be generated with detailed geometries. Taking reference from them, 3D models can be designed using CAD software. After the joints are printed, the tubes can then be cut into suitable lengths and assembled with the 3D-printed joints. Lastly, create a mould that sandwiches the tubes and joints and use epoxy and carbon fibre to bond them together by injecting them into the mould.


In my opinion, not only the tubes and the joints can be 3D printed, every part of the bicycle should be 3D printed with different materials to have maximal customization while having desirable quality and affordability. The three reasons are lower cost leading to better affordability, 3D printing technology allowing plenty of customizations and having a variety of material choices. However, even though 3D printing allows people to design and build their bicycles, some people prefer to buy finished products from manufacturers for convenience.


The cost of 3D printing is relatively lower than traditional manufacturing methods such as injection moulding and compression moulding. According to makeshaper.com, the average cost for 3D printing filaments ranges from 20 SGD to 50 SGD per 1 kg based on the material features such as colour-changing and flexibility. As 3D printing allows different internal structures such as density and shape, 1 kg of filaments can be used to print almost as many parts as needed with the appropriate setting. The lowest cost for a 3D printer could even be 200 SGD (Ev3dm.com), which makes this technology very accessible to everyone. Moreover, the unique principle of 3D printing technology can print out the part immediately without the need to build a mould. These make 3D printing a product much more affordable to people with low income compared to the traditional manufacturing method. Due to this reason, many companies have their 3D printing lab to test the products before manufacturing them. 


Furthermore, 3D printing technology allows plenty of customization on design. With sufficient 3D modelling skills, people can make everything from mechanical parts to figurines. For example, the killer of Japanese president Shinzo Abe used a 3D-printed gun to shoot him. (Surabhi Shaurya,2022). Even though 3D printing technology is used in the wrong way in this case, there is no doubt about the potential of 3D printing technology. However, it is not necessary to 3D print everything as some products are much cheaper and more convenient to buy than to 3D print them. For example, the cost of an iron spoon is just 50 cents but it has much greater durability and toughness than a 3D-printed spoon.


Lastly, other than the common FDM 3D printers that use thermoplastic as their material, there are many other types of 3D printers such as SLA 3D printers that use resin to print parts. Both FDM and SLA 3D printers are commonly used in manufacturing to create jigs, fixtures, and another tooling. FDM is better for large, simple parts, while SLA is a better solution for complex jigs, highly accurate tooling, and moulds (formlabs.com). FDM 3D printer is enough to fully build a bike as it has plenty of material choices such as ABS, PLA and TPU filaments. Both ABS and PLA can be carbon-fibre reinforced but ABS is more durable and stronger than PLA in terms of melting temperature and ductility, these materials can be used to 3D print the hard parts of the bike while TPU filaments are soft and hence can be used to print soft parts of the bike such as the handrail and the seat.


Therefore, I believe Androole can try to fully 3D print a bicycle rather than just 3D print a frame with steel tubes as technically, every part of the bike can be customized and 3D printed with a variety of materials to have desirable features and functions. 


(Original Source)
https://www.instructables.com/Custom-3D-Printed-Carbon-Fiber-Bike-Frame/
(Supporting Sources)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-fiber-reinforced_polymers
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/bike-frame-materials/
https://cyclingtips.com/2018/01/how-carbon-fibre-bicycle-frames-are-made/

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