3D Print Full Scale Bicycle

Each year, Sea Otter Classic takes place in Monterey, California—not far from Fathom’s Oakland Production Center. The event celebrates the cycling community with dozens of races and one of the largest consumer bike expositions in the world, earning it the unofficial title of the sport’s North American season opener. Happy to combine a love for cycling with a passion for additive manufacturing and advanced technologies, Fathom developed, 3D printed and assembled a full-scale bicycle to share with crowds on the sunny coast. Sea Otter was not the beginning of the Fathom’s cycling interest. In fact, several members of the team bike to work and the entire tooling department is passionate about cycling culture. Many of our customers, too! After reveling in the completed, 3D printed bicycle, a handful of Fathomers spoke to the importance of 3D printing in the cycling world.

From custom grips and inflatable frames, to lighter and stronger parts, Phil Stob, Derek Roedel and Sam Pirahanchi elaborated on the exciting future of additive manufacturing in cycling. Watch the video for footage of the 3D printed bicycle and hear what these members of the tooling team had to say. To learn more about Fathom’s 3D printing services (FDM, PolyJet, SLS and DMLS), start a conversation with an account manager.

Direct metal laser sintering is a great additive manufacturing technology for bicycles because weight is of great concern—bikes need to be lighter and stronger, said Roedel, Tooling Project Manager at Fathom. Plus, designers and engineers can take advantage of the design freedom to create customized bikes with really cool aesthetics. Cycling component manufacturers can think differently about how bicycles are designed by developing unconventional dropouts, hubs and frames with innovative patterns while making the parts lighter—retain or even increase the strength in aluminum steel or titanium parts, too.”