Case Study: Renishaw achieves the world’s first metal 3D-printed bicycle frame and 33% weight reduction with Altair (solidThinking Inspire)

Renishaw - Customer Case Study

Renishaw, a global leader in engineering technologies and additive manufacturing (laser melting), tackled the challenge of designing and manufacturing the world’s first metal 3D‑printed bicycle frame with major weight savings. To explore AM-friendly geometries for a critical but simple part, Renishaw partnered with Altair and used the solidThinking Inspire software to drive concept generation for the seat post and other frame components.

Using Altair’s solidThinking Inspire to generate load‑driven shapes and Renishaw’s laser‑melting production, the team produced parts that were significantly lighter and stronger: the seat post bracket fell from 360 g to 200 g (a 44% reduction), the overall bicycle benefited from a 33% weight reduction, and the Inspire‑influenced seat post exceeded British Standards (tested to 300,000 cycles versus the 50,000‑cycle requirement). Altair’s Inspire enabled designs that fully leveraged additive manufacturing freedom, unlocking measurable strength and weight advantages.

Renishaw