- This topic has 25 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by
Duende.
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July 3, 2016 at 6:50 pm #25977
Duende
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Duende
Ad Hynkel wrote:
Ad Hynkel wrote:Fascinating post. So do the 2 halves of the chainstays bond together inside the mold in the oven?Yes, indeed. The two halves bond together in the oven. That is why it’s very important to make the mold in a very tight tolerance so the two halves meet exactly in the right place, i.e., carbon to carbon. Otherwise, you can throw the molded part away.
Duende
A very pair of chainstays (35
A very pair of chainstays (35.6 gms each),
Ad Hynkel
Fascinating post. So do the 2
Fascinating post. So do the 2 halves of the chainstays bond together inside the mold in the oven?
Duende
The chainstays have been
The chainstays have been taken out of the mold.
Duende
The mold is closed on itself
The mold is closed on itself after enough carbon fiber has been used for the piece. This is what the chainstays look like after being removed from the oven,
Duende
The mold is made once the
The mold is made once the design has been finalized. The mold itself is split in 2 halfs which will encapsulate the piece that is being made. The specs need to be very exact since the quality of the piece will depend on how well the two halfs fit. The mold is covered in both halfs with pre-preg carbon fiber, in this case, unidireccional. The photo below shows how the mold have been lined with carbon fiber,
Duende
Hello everyone. Now I would
Hello everyone. Now I would like to show how I make the chainstays and the rear brake bridge using molds. Molds can be made from different materials. In this case, I used aluminium. To make a mold, you will need a mill so an aluminium block can be cut, shaped and polished to the shape of interest, in this case, a pair of chainstays. The shape of the chainstays can be designed using a CAD program as shown in the picture below,
Duende
unconstituted wrote:Maybe road.cc can make this into an article? Not sure I can stomach another saddle bag piece this week
Oh and Duende, when do you think the industry will move to 3D printing frames? Any insight from inside the industry to share?
3D printing is already being used at the moment. Propotypes are created with 3D printing. There are companies (Bastion cycles) that are making titanium lugs with 3D printers. Molds are also generated with 3D printers. I can see the bike industry embracing this technology with open arms in the not distant future.
Personally, I’m very interested in the application of 3D printing. I’m about to buy one. Check out these videos:
tritecommentbot
Maybe road.cc can make this
Maybe road.cc can make this into an article? Not sure I can stomach another saddle bag piece this week

Oh and Duende, when do you think the industry will move to 3D printing frames? Any insight from inside the industry to share?
arckuk
Interesting series of posts –
Interesting series of posts – thanks for making the effort to show us how it’s done! Keep them coming.
adamthekiwi
Yeah, ditto!
Yeah, ditto!
Duende – could you also please include some information about the equipment you use?
TypeVertigo
Subscribed for interest. Keep
Subscribed for interest. Keep it coming, Duende.
Duende
A very strong and light set
A very strong and light set of dropouts,
Duende
The dropouts further along,
The dropouts further along,
Duende
The carbon sheet is now
The carbon sheet is now placed on a CNC cutter and the dropouts are cut,
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