Metal Injection Molding Titanium Alloy Bicycle Stem Parts

Perhaps you still remember the world's lightest 2.7kg bicycle, which is equipped with a metal crank, which is said to be made by titanium alloy metal injection molding. (Details: "Maybe the lightest bicycle in the world (not violating the Advertising Law)") The author of this article believes that the understanding and collaboration between the design and industrial ends are the key to excellent design. To design the best products, the first step is to understand how the best materials are made.

Metal Crank Made Of Titanium Alloy Metal Injection Molding

For a long time, I have relied on metal injection molding to make prototype parts, but there is a problem that has always bothered me: the price of metal injection molding is much lower than 3D printing. Now I will share the results of my collaboration with the 3D printing field with a titanium alloy metal injection molding 94mm stem weighing only 83g: using AI technology to optimize the production process, thereby effectively reducing costs.

Weight Limit 130kg

Why can't the titanium alloy stems on the market reach this weight? Because TC4 titanium alloy is a difficult material to handle, there is no way to make pipes at low cost, and there is no way to CNC process the entire stem at low cost. Almost all titanium alloy stems are welded with TA18 titanium alloy, which has lower strength, so there is no weight advantage.

Because metal injection molding can laser sinter and melt TC4 powder, it can produce high-strength TC4 titanium alloy parts at a lower price than single-piece CNC. The mechanical properties of this stem are very good, and the final test results are very close to the mechanical simulation. In layman's terms, compared with ultra-light aluminum alloy and carbon fiber stems, the titanium alloy metal injection molded stem will hardly feel elastic during use.

Simply put, the price of metal injection molding is mainly determined by the metal material consumption, post-processing, product size and production time.

Among them, the metal material consumption, printing time and labor processing can be adjusted. In the metal injection molding I use, the same metal material needs to be used to support the parts to ensure the appearance during part production. This part of the support will also be included in the total price, and adjusting the angle of the parts through the mold, changing the details of the parts and performing thermal simulation can affect the density and length of the support material.

Such A Dense Support, The Price Has Already Exceeded The Product Itself

The production time is determined by the placement height of the parts and the speed of the laser scanning. In the situation below, there are many dot matrix structures. The placement height is determined by the size of the parts. A stem standing upright is obviously more space-saving than laying flat, but more support materials are needed.

Qinhuangdao Zhongwei Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. was established in 1997. Our company has a construction area of ​​4,000 square meters. It has successively obtained ISO9001:2015 and ICANN and 16949 automotive system certification and other series of certificates. Our company can mass-produce and supply products with high precision requirements, undertake ODM customized orders, and can OEM large quantities. We are professionally committed to powder metallurgy pressing and powder metallurgy injection molding parts. From technology research and development innovation to production technology, we have a strong R&D technical team. The pursuit of excellent product quality is our usual quality standard. Our company can supply mobile phone accessories, computer hardware accessories, automotive hardware accessories, power tool accessories, vacuum cleaner accessories, metal brackets, smart wearables, luggage and clothing metal LOGO, and other series of production, research and development, sales, and provide a complete set of powder metallurgy injection solutions. Welcome to contact us for negotiation!