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Revolutionizing Bicycle Crank Design with IoT: A Case Study on Race Face
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Industries
- Metals
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Additive Manufacturing
- Facial Recognition
Services
- Hardware Design & Engineering Services
The Challenge
Race Face, a leading designer and manufacturer of performance cycling products, was faced with the challenge of designing and manufacturing a bicycle crank with increased stiffness and strength targets, without adding any weight to the current aluminum alloy part. The new crank also had to maintain strength targets. The constraints were to manufacture in a cost-effective way that minimized tooling cost and processing of each part. Traditionally, Race Face attempted to maximize stiffness using an I-beam cross-sectional design, optimizing the crank arm at the moment of inertial at various sections. From there, Race Face would run a finite element analysis, make changes and recheck until stresses were minimized for the desired shape and weight.
About The Customer
Race Face Performance products is a leading designer and manufacturer of performance cycling products. Based in Vancouver, B.C. Canada, Race Face has distribution in over 40 different countries. It specializes in performance cycling components, clothing, and protection. It has been in business for over 20 years. The company is known for its innovative approach to design and manufacturing, always pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the cycling industry. With a strong focus on performance and quality, Race Face is committed to delivering products that meet the highest standards of durability, functionality, and aesthetics.
The Solution
Race Face incorporated solidThinking Inspire into their design process to generate the ideal concept for a forged part. This software allowed Race Face to better understand material placement within its designs and speed up the design process. The built-in manufacturing constraints in Inspire helped Race Face to design for its 2D forging process. The concept generated in Inspire was significantly different than the I-beam architecture that Race Face had traditionally used. Race Face then used this updated design space to generate concepts for both maximum stiffness and minimum mass. The concepts were then imported into a CAD program to build a final design. The final creation is a crank arm that is 25-50% stiffer at the same weight as the previous generation crank arm and much stronger.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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