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Electric Bike Company Lets Users Create Replacement Parts with 3D Printers (3ders.org)
The manufacturers of a new electric bike are sharing 3D-printable files that let users create their own replacement parts and accessories. "We want to help all our customers to personalize and get the most from their electric bikes," the company explains on their web site, "by offering them unique and interesting parts, as well as spares, that they can 3D print at home for free." Powered by a 42V lithium ion battery, the $2,430 Trayser has a range of 60 miles at speeds up to 15.5 miles per hour. 3Ders.org points out that entire bike frames have also been generated using 3D printers.
Conceptually a nice idea. From a practical and price-point standpoint, not really realistic. For the 3D printers that mere mortals can afford to own or have something made in, the part will likely not have the mechanical durability to be a moving part or a part that has to withstand stresses over time. There may well be commercial 3D printers that can make mechanical parts or parts that must perform under other types of stresses, but the cost of having it made verse buying it from a parts manufacturer will not be economical. As the summary states, whole frames have been printed, but good luck doing that on a hobby printer, or being able to afford having it done commercially for under 10 grand... But again, it's an interesting idea that one day will probably be realistic. Really, what they are doing is giving away their designs for free with the purchase of a bike, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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That thing is fugly. And most home printers are going to spit out crappy ABS that simply should not be used for structural elements in the first place. Maybe print a cupholder to justify your dum purchase?
people have been making replacement parts and customizations of all sorts of equipment and vehicles using variety of tools such as lathe machines and other power tools, since at least start of industrial revolution, if not earlier.
having another way to do the same, 3d printers, is nice. but not all that new.
Looking at the bike itself, the frame is aluminum and the wheels/brakes/handlebars/seat are all common off the shelf parts. So you're not going to be printing anything that is structural. The list of parts you can print are non-essential
-iphone holder
-speaker holder
-cup holder
-mud guards
-motor cable clip
-brake clips
Most of that stuff is $10 and below. So in order to do this, you'd have to first buy their $2400 bike and then a 3d printer. I guess if you already have both of these, you can save $10 on a mud guard by printing one yourself.
I do give the company props for giving out the plans, but i'm not sure anybody is going to buy this bike because of this giveaway.
This has a 25 kWh battery and 50 miles range (urban) with a 2kW motor. A Tesla Model S has an 85 kWh battery and 265 miles range. The Tesla gets over 3 miles per kWh while this gets 2.
How does this work - I'd assume a low power motorcycle would draw far less energy than a car?
I like that this is getting almost 100 km (officially). Most electric bicycles have about half that which means : you can go 50 km away but can't go back? - you can, but you will be hauling a lot of dead weight on 50 km.
Short range electric bike would suck ass, unless it fits your need e.g. short commute in moutain / hilly area.
In some cases.. It's either a "good" thing or a bad thing, but if you have to carry an electric bike upstairs (and better, with days worth of groceries) that's quite the work out. So that you can get it plugged into the mains.. and to not let a fecking $2000 bike hang around in the street.
At that price financing gets needed.
Even the summary says "personalize and get the most from". Heck, if 3d-printing the stuff was cheaper than what the manufacturers do, wouldn't the manufacturer do that and sell a cheaper bike?
Just noticed there are differing numbers. Small enough to be irrelevant, I guess.
I imagine that some of it is purely for the feel-good: '3d printing!' probably isn't a bad marketing gimmick if you are trying to sell a techie-toy electric bike; but some of it may also come down to scale.
You need some pretty esoteric shapes before 3d printers, of any quality, can beat conventional methods for reasonable sized production runs; but the cost per unit tends to climb pretty steeply if you aren't ordering in decent quantities. Unless the manufacturer sells enough of these bikes that they can make a reasonable prediction of how many replacement part X, optional widget Y, etc. they'll need to produce and keep on the shelf, they run the risk of things going out of stock and annoying customers, things rotting on the shelf and typing up money until they eventually sell or have to be scrapped, and that sort of supply chain fun.
I'm not sure where their sale numbers are relative to the break-even point on mass production of spares and option parts; but the desirability of handling that aspect of support, and the economics of mass production vs. short-run techniques definitely change with the size of the user base. Something on the scale of a common car model may well support multiple, competing, vendors of mass produced spares and options(usually with the vendor trying to enforce a premium by one means or another). Something on a much smaller scale may make support an unfortunate necessity that you do only because your customers will be unhappy if they can't get the parts they need.
Electric Bike Company Lets Users Create Replacement Parts with 3D Printers
That word implies they weren't "allowed" to before.
Though given the behaviour of other companies with regards to third-party spare parts...
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
They make .stl available, which is pretty cool. However these are not "plans", they are just "dumb" 3D models made of a lot of triangles with no easy way to edit/modify. There are no real dimensions, no tolerances, & if by "plans" you mean engineered drawings, obviously they are not providing those.
As I said, it's still pretty cool. I mean if you already had a 3D printer (or access to one). Even with access the material is usually pricey so this would still be expensive. I do have access to a high end 3D printer but for any of the larger parts I would have to run it on the weekend & hope to not get caught. So far they've just approved each purchase of the material but some day they are going to ask where it's all going.
SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT
What is wrong with a bicycle with pedals? There are plenty of fatties out there that could use to do some pedal pushing.
For the price of the bike, you can by several bikes. And who are you going to get, to print the parts? You cheap a** plastic 3D printer can't.
"Nobody cares about your stupid useless computers" – Anonymous cowards in the early 1980's.
Less than four decades later, not only does practically everyone have a computer in the form of a smartphone, they're carrying it with them 24/7.
I think the major differences between subtractive and additive manufacturing are the noise and the mess.
Subtractive manufacturing is usually noisy and it makes a mess from the cuts. Not something you would do anywhere but a workshop, which people living in apartments don't have. Excessive noise for hours with neighbours on the other side of the walls.
Additive manufacturing can be quiet enough with a good quality 3D printer that you won't even hear it from the next room even with the door open (bushings, microstepping) and there's no mess except the fumes that can be filtered out with an enclosed printer and a proper EPA filter.
"Bike Company Lets Users Create Replacement Parts" is a part of the problem. That word ("Lets") creates the impression that before the issue is even discussed EditorDavid and whomever else is involved in writing /. article posts has decided the default should be to deny bicycle owners the freedom to help themselves by making replacement parts with or without the vendor's cooperation and thus this requires permission. Therefore we're supposed to think it's generous that a bike company "lets" people do this. Nonsense.
It's nice when manufacturers make it easier for owners to make and install replacement parts but it's wrong and unhealthy for the public to view the situation as though this behavior is off-limits by default unless permission is granted. One should celebrate this cooperation and use this cooperation as a reason to do business with these organizations. But don't hobble yourselves into seeking permission to maintain things you own. Down that road lies a lack of freedom, DRM, and more.
A better headline would be to replace "Lets" with "Helps".
Digital Citizen