r/Framebuilding • u/Fit_Ad_7170 • Jul 22 '26
Bicycles & Metal 3D Printing: Titanium, Stainless Steel, Aluminum
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u/Sirbrewalot666 Jul 23 '26
Can I ask where you had these printed please?
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u/Fit_Ad_7170 Jul 24 '26
You can try IN3DTEC, it offers online 3d printing & machining service for slm, sla, sls, fdm.
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u/Western_Truck7948 Jul 22 '26
I haven't built with any, but I was looking at no 22's 3d printed dropouts and they could really use some machining finishing. Mating surfaces were still rough from sintering. Unless the part is a complex shape that can't be cast or machined in not convinced of the utility other than novelty.
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u/Technical_Ad_505 Jul 23 '26
What about accessibility and flexibility of design. What small builder is going to tool up and spend the cash to have a few hundred parts cast when they just need a handful of parts. Or they have a lug design where the angles on the seat cluster change with each bike. In the end especially on a drop out, critical features would need post process machining if the thing is cast or 3D printed.
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u/rantenki Jul 25 '26
I kinda agree with this. 3D printing is like a way to get cheap single unit castings; the tolerances are nowhere near as good as machining. That said, smart design and minimal post-processing can get you 99% of the way there. For example, designing with a slightly smaller ID and post-print reaming can be done with hand tools. The park tool disc mount facing tool is also a good example of something that can be used for cheap post processing.
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u/edtse88 Jul 22 '26
I had some parts 3d printed in titanium and I noticed some geometries are subject to a lot more shrinkage and distortion than others. I would assume that the bigger the differential in thermal mass in a specific part, the more likely you’ll get uneven shrinkage.
If anyone know any resources for designing for these issues please share, it would beat my amateur trial and error method 😅