Case Study: Santa Cruz Bicycles achieves faster R&D and in‑house carbon‑fiber prototyping with Stratasys 3D printing

Santa Cruz Bicycles Expands Their R&D Capabilities with 3D Printing

Santa Cruz Bicycles needed to produce a one‑off, carbon‑fiber trials bike to Danny MacAskill’s exact specs but faced the challenge of designing and manufacturing a bespoke carbon frame in‑house on a tight timeline (their carbon frames are normally mass‑produced in Asia). They worked with Stratasys and its 3D printing technology—using Fortus 450mc capabilities and materials like ULTEM™ 1010 resin and carbon‑filled nylon—to prototype and validate unique frame designs without the time and cost of traditional carbon tooling.

Stratasys helped develop the initial 3D‑printed tooling and mandrels so Santa Cruz could iterate designs in hours and go from CAD to a rideable prototype in a matter of weeks, saving time and money while meeting the production schedule. The success of the project led Santa Cruz to purchase a Fortus 450mc and run it daily for concept models, composite tooling, jigs, fixtures and test‑lab parts, expanding R&D capacity and accelerating product development.

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Jack Russell

Senior Industrial Designer