Bikes of the Bunch: Flying Machine 3DP-F1

February 7, 2014

by CyclingTips | Photography by Flying Machine Bicycle Studio

3D printing is all the rage at the moment and in recent years we've seen several bikes being made using this technology. Just recently the small Perth-based Flying Machine Bicycle Studio revealed a bike that they've dubbed the 3DP-F1, a titanium bike featuring 3D-printed lugs.

Lugged frames have become less popular in recent years due to limitations with variations in geometry. But by using 3D printing the folks at Flying Machine have great flexibility and can create machines with geometry tailored to the rider.

Flying Machine partnered with the Titanium Technology Division at CSIRO (the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation), reportedly the only organisation in the Southern Hemisphere with a 3D printer capable of producing titanium parts.

The titanium lugs are produced in Melbourne and shipped to Perth where the folks at Flying Machine use an aerospace-grade epoxy adhesive to bond the titanium tubing with the 3d-printed lugs.

The Flying Machine 3DP-F1 you see in this post was built up with the following components:

- Drivetrain: Gates Carbon Drive, Centretrack with a 55-tooth front sprocket and 20-tooth rear
- Hubs: White Industries M15 titanium cassette with single-speed spacer kit
- Rims: H + Son Archetype
- Spokes: DT Swisse Competition
- Tyres: Schwalbe Durano
- Saddle: Fizik Aliante VS
- Handlebars: FM Custom
- Forks: FM Custom Carbon
- Bar Tape: Dipell Competition, leather
- Bottom Bracket: Bushnell Featherweight eccentric with White Industries Ti spindle BB
- Brakes: Tektro R570 calipers with RL340 levers

Matt Andrew is the owner and designer at Flying Machine and this particular bike was custom built for him. The company is aiming to be able to produce fully tailored custom frames within 10 days of order and with complete bikes available within three weeks. Production versions of the machine will be available with a range of component options and colour schemes.

If you’d like to learn more about getting your own custom built Flying Machine 3DP-F1, click here.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos below.

Manning Thomson

Really interesting development with the 3D printed lugs. Any idea how they compare strength wise?
- Mark_Kelly
  
  3D printed alloys parts are similar in strength to the same alloy when cast, so as long as the lugs are a bit thicker than the tubes they’ll be strong enough.
  
  Plenty of bikes have been built with very high strength steel tubing (953 etc) and lugs made of the comparatively weak 304SS.
jon

http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/02/03/titanium-flying-machine-the-latest-bike-born-from-a-3d-printer/
Trytanium

Bikes of the bunch just took a massive dive.
- melbin rider
  
  Not sure about a massive dive, but for some reason this one left me a bit cold. Normally I dig the retro / entropy inspire stuff to. Love the idea of a custom frame being turned around with such speed though, pretty impressive. Just quietly, the CSIRO are turning out the be the number one commonwealth agency at the minute, tiny dragons, titanium bike bits … who knows what they’ll print next!
Santo

Am I the only one who thinks a Ti bike should be left unpainted?
- Justin
  
  Maybe but an ugly and unnecessary ISP? And why 36H wheels, the inferior Tektro brakes and those spacers when a slightly longer HT and 4 degree sloping TT would be more aesthetically appealing?
- DavoBel
  
  No, I love mine au naturel :)
yossarian

Why would you glue titanium lugs to titanium tubes? Stronger? Cheaper?
900Aero

Well I like it.
velocite

If you must have a custom frame this looks like a really smart way of making it.
Craig

Well as a bit of Ti die hard(owner of 6 Ti bikes over the years) I find this really cool/clever and great to see that its being done right here in Oz.
Not so sure it will catch on as the frames wont be lighter and I doubt they will be as strong/durable than a traditionally TIG welded Ti frame.
And dont get me started on painted Ti.
But Kudo’s for doing it!
http://www.facebook.com/pmark1bike pmark1bike

Love it, its all about trying something new. I see that you unscrew seat stays to change the belt.
http://subcontinentalcyclist.wordpress.com/ Ankush Agarwal

Certainly not the greatest looking bike but its great to see 3D printing being used for bike frames.
dcaspira

Congrats - I get this is a business model thing, custom geo - but hey, please use the tech to show off - do some crazy lugs that old school tech simply doesn’t allow - blow our minds, make us proud!
Robert Merkel

Of course this bike is more interesting for the tech used to make it than the bike itself.

It gets really interesting when you can print out entire frames, not just lugs, out of titanium. Want a custom bike? Send your CAD file to the local Ti printer and pick it up the next day…
Scott

This reads like an ad.
mattb

I think the unique-ness of this bikes makes it a worthy addition to bikes of the bunch.
It may not be drool worthy but its custom made, belt driven bike that was utilised 3d printing! I haven’t seen a bike that met these specs before, and am glad I have seen it now. 3d printing is going to change the world for consumer goods and if it makes a dream bike attainable over the next few years, I’m all for it, and if CT to bring me up to speed on how it will change cycling for me, yay for CT