Trumpf’s Additive Manufacturing brings Dangerholm’s handlebar design to life in time for Eurobike 2024

Extreme bike tuner Gustav Gullholm, known as Dangerholm, has worked with Trumpf, based in Ditzingen, Germany, and its TruPrint metal Additive Manufacturing machines, to create a bike prototype that was ready to ride at Eurobike 2024, complete with a new additively manufactured handlebar.

In addition to its futuristic design, the handlebars have semi-internal ducts for the brake cables. Assembly and maintenance are designed to be completed without time-consuming disassembly and brake bleeding. A so-called snap-push connection made this possible, with the cables running along channels and being held in place by clips. These clips have undercuts, meaning they would require a very complicated mold to make the handlebar with carbon. Additive Manufacturing was said to be better in terms of process technology, and gave a more elegant design.

Prototype development with Additive Manufacturing

Maxime Lallemand, Syncros Components Engineer at Scott, one of the major brand manufacturers in the bicycle industry, shared, “We have been working with Dangerholm for many years. This time, he wanted to produce a prototype of his idea of the bike of the future with us for Eurobike 2024 – not a design study, but a fully operational mountain bike. The new handlebar concept was also a particular challenge for us.”

The clock started ticking; there were five months until Eurobike, which also meant five months for the development, production on the TruPrint 3000 and ISO certification of the handlebars. So Lallemand and Quentin Beauregard, MTB Lead Designer at Scott, used their contacts with the TRUMPF specialists for Additive Manufacturers, “For prototype development, aluminum 3D printing is unbeatable in terms of cost and speed compared to classic carbon/mold construction. Technically speaking, 3D printing pushes the boundaries in terms of form and function. This enables us to build a technically perfect handlebar and for Gustav that eliminates all visual distractions.”

Two years earlier: Door-to-door canvassing in the bike scene

Lallemand and Beauregard met application developers Chris Lengwenat and his colleague Nicolas Haydt, technology experts for Additive Manufacturing at Trumpf, at Eurobike in 2022. In their luggage, the pair had a brake lever, a brake caliper and a pedal—developed by the two TRUMPF experts and manufactured on a TruPrint with aluminium and titanium.

“We went from stand to stand with our small suitcase,” recalls Lengwenat, Haydt added, “By the end of the day, we had many new contacts in the development departments of a lot of major manufacturers, including Maxime Lallemand. And he also introduced us to bike tuner Dangerholm.”

Today: Pioneers in aluminium AM

In the run-up to Eurobike 2024, the threads between Trumpf, Scott and Dangerholm came together again, “The fact that 3D printing with aluminium is even an option for components such as the handlebars is due to a new high-strength alloy,” explained Lengwenat. “Aluminum 6061 has already found a lot of fans in the bicycle sector. And we are currently the only ones in Europe with experience in printing with this material.”

For the experts at Trumpf, the project was an opportunity to exchange ideas with the carbon experts from Scott Sports, who had decades of experience in the production of high-quality carbon bicycles and components.

Lallemand shared, “We were able to optimally combine our respective areas of expertise in this handlebar project.”

Full design freedom

Lengwenat explained, “Unlike conventional methods, such as milling, metal 3D printing wins points for its freedom of form. Tools reach their physical limits, whereas powder can be built up in any shape.”

Haydt added, “The internal cable channels of the Dangerholm handlebars can only be realised with 3D printing and we achieve high stability with low weight – this is what makes aluminium printing so interesting, especially for the bike industry.”

Dangerholm, Scott and Trumpf completed the handlebar design just in time for Eurobike24.

www.trumpf.com

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