Bastion Cycles takes ownership of its metal AM capabilities

Bastion Cycles, based near Melbourne, Australia, designs, develops, trials and markets high- performance road bikes made using additively manufactured titanium components. Their frames are described as "the riders holy grail" and using Bastion Cycles' online bespoke design tool, customers can design and modify their bike and follow the production process from beginning to end, assured in the knowledge that their custom-built bike will last a lifetime. The company transitioned from outsourcing their AM needs by investing in Renishaw's AM250 system to focus on in-house production. Traditional methods of manufacture such as CNC machining or moulding do not allow for a lot of flexibility or customisation. In turn, many riders have to compromise on the size of their bike frame. The adoption of AM opens the door for re-designing and re- engineering bike frames, optimising strength and functionality and customisation.

“Australia is a new and, I would say, fairly small AM market. Renishaw is the only AM company that has committed to have a local headquarters with dedicated staff and a full suite of spare parts,” remarked Bastion Cycles Co-founder Ben Schultz.   “Additive manufacturing is the secret to the customisation and performance of our bikes and a real differentiator. Other brands produce lugged titanium with carbon fibre tubing frames, but they all manufacture the lugs by welding tubes together. We are able to manipulate the shape of our lugs and add a super lightweight lattice to the inside of them, which means we can achieve exceptionally high lateral and torsional stiffness, similar to what you find in a carbon fibre monocoque frame and at a similar weight,” commented Bastion Cycles co-founder, James Woolcock.