A 3D printed Italian bicycle leads the way for the Danish industry
The cycling nation Denmark was outpaced at the Paris Olympics, where the strongest competitors and most successful nations dominated with additive manufacturing. But can Danish companies learn from this and use industrial 3D printing to gain a competitive edge and reduce CO2 emissions? This question is adressed in the latest blog post from Center for Industrial 3D printing - Danish Technological Institute , where our regular blogger Jeppe Byskov has handed over the pen to Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen , CEO at Danish AM Hub Hub.
Danish cyclists like Vingegaard, Mads P, and Asgreen have achieved great results, but at the Paris Olympics, there were no Danish cyclists on the podium. Instead, medals went to countries like Great Britain, Italy, and Australia.
A possible contributing factor to Denmark's disappointing result could be that riders from other nations used custom 3D-printed frames or handlebars similar to the world's fastest bicycle - a specially designed and 3D-printed bike from the Italian manufacturer Pinarello - on which rider Filippo Ganna set the hour record in 2022.
In other words, the competition was not on equal terms, as our profiles had inferior equipment compared to their competitors.
Imagine if Danish companies, like the Italian bicycle manufacturer, would increasingly exploit additive manufacturing/industrial 3D printing when producing pumps, generators, machines, wind turbines, and so on.
This could give them a competitive advantage and significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
It requires courage
Danish companies are already on the bandwagon when it comes to plastics and concrete. But when it comes to printing in metal, we are being overtaken by countries like Sweden and Germany.
This is despite the fact that Danish manufacturing companies could greatly benefit from the new technology.
But it requires courage, I am aware of that.
And courage is found at companies like the Aarhus-based Advansor . In an additive manufacturing design course with Danish AM Hub and the Danish Technological Institute , Advansor developed and 3D-printed a manifold for a cooling system. In the original manifold, Advansor struggled with pressure loss, leading to less efficient cooling and wasted energy.
The 3D-printed pipes are more compact, more aerodynamic inside, and easier to incorporate into the systems.
This saves 70,000 kWh per year, equivalent to nearly 20 tons of CO2 per year. Or the emissions from driving a car almost four times around the Earth.
With additive manufacturing, we can create shapes that traditional production methods like casting and milling find difficult to achieve.
Just as a 3D-printed bicycle is more efficient lap by lap, Advansor's manifold is more efficient kilowatt-hour by kilowatt-hour.
Here are the competitive advantages
And it is precisely here: in sustainability and design freedom, that we can find competitive advantages for Danish companies.
By using 3D printing, companies can reduce material waste, as the technology only uses the material necessary to produce a product.
Additionally, 3D printing offers an unparalleled design freedom, allowing the creation of complex geometric shapes. This opens up innovation in product design and allows companies to differentiate their products in the market by offering unique solutions to customers.
Another advantage is customization and flexibility. With 3D printing, companies can quickly make prototypes and customize products according to specific customer needs and changes in demand. This leads to shorter product development times and a more agile production process, which can be a significant advantage in a rapidly changing market.
Although the initial investment in 3D printing technology can be high, there are significant long-term savings to be made on materials and inventory costs. By producing locally, companies can also reduce their dependence on global supply chains, which is a major advantage in times of uncertainty or disruptions in international trade routes.
Bjarne's Bicycle in '97
And if Danish companies do not pursue the potential advantages that industrial 3D printing offers us, we risk that Danish industry ends up like Bjarne Riis' bicycle in the le de Tour France 1997.
After his victory in the Tour de France in 1996, Bjarne Riis received a superbike for his time trials. But in the time trial in the same race the following year, namely 1997, nothing worked on the bike. Riis ended up in anger and frustration, throwing the bike into a field.
Incidentally, the bike was developed and produced by Pinarello - before the company adopted AM technology.