Atherton Bikes works with Renishaw for key metal additively manufactured components
February 4, 2019
Renishaw is producing metal additively manufactured titanium lugs for Atherton Bikes, a new mountain bike brand (Courtesy Renishaw)
Renishaw, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, UK, reports that it is working with new mountain bike brand Atherton Bikes to produce metal additively manufactured titanium lugs for the company’s bike frames. The new brand was launched in January 2019 by mountain biking World Championship winners and siblings Gee, Rachel and Dan Atherton, and co-founded by Piers Linney of UK television programme Dragons’ Den.
The company’s introductory bike range will incorporate carbon fibre tubing and titanium lugs produced on Renishaw’s multi-laser RenAM 500Q metal Additive Manufacturing system. Initial production will be at Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Solutions Centre located in Staffordshire, UK, followed by a transition towards in-house manufacture at Atherton Bikes’ own facility. During the development of the new Atherton Bikes, Renishaw reported that it has been giving feedback and modifying the lugs so that they can be built accurately and successfully.
Also working on the Atherton Bikes project is renowned suspension designer Dave Weagle, along with Ed Haythornthwaite and other members of the former Robot Bike Company, which Renishaw previously worked with to manufacture titanium lugs for its R160 bike frame. The lugs for Atherton Bikes are said to be the first bike components to be built on the four-laser RenAM 500Q system.
The titanium AM lugs, produced on a Renishaw 500Q (Courtesy Renishaw)
“Renishaw is a world-leader in metal Additive Manufacturing machines,” stated Jono Munday, Additive Manufacturing Applications Manager at Renishaw. “Due to our position as a leading metrology business, we are also perfectly positioned to help customers develop an end-to-end solution, from AM build, all the way through machining and post-processing, providing an end-use engineered component.”
“Manufacturing the lugs on the RenAM 500Q enables rapid production time,” he continued. “This means that the bike frame development can be turned around quickly and customised to the exact requirements of the rider, whether that is the Atherton Racing team on the World Cup circuit or an individual retail customer. Whereas traditionally a lot of tooling is required, Additive Manufacturing is an entirely digital process, meaning that the lugs can be modified in CAD and reproduced more efficiently.”
