New project :Ronin Bicycle Works, Hand-Folded Metal Bicycle Frame

A Technology project in San Francisco, CA by Ronin Metal Masters

Hand Folded Sheet Metal Bicycle Frames?
Basically, we’ve discovered a way to make folding sheet metal as easy as creating origami with paper.
We’ve taken an old art form and invented a new way to produce with sheet metal. We’ve broadened the material base to include stronger materials like titanium that were extremely impractical to form traditionally. We can form shapes without prohibitively expensive machinery and with a high degree of accuracy.
Since we are steeped in bike culture in the Bay Area and San Francisco, we decided to see if we could apply our technology to bicycle frames. We quickly realized that our new technology lends itself very well to creating lightweight chassis for transportation. What we came up with exceeded even our expectations. After prototyping extensively with heavy stock paper, we built a frame using 0.024 inch thick 6061-T6 aluminum sheet. We were able to build a lightweight, stiff and super fun frame on the very first go. The secret that allows us to fold an accurate assembly from sheet metal by hand lies in the special patent pending perforations cut into the material. This gives the folds that unique twisted wrought iron look. We can hand fold tubes that change shape, curve and form pre-stressed self-reinforcing tubes. The result:
 
Aren’t welded tubes good enough?
Sure, tube construction has made sense for a long time. Why not continue to force metal through extrusions, cut it to length, cut the ends to mate up, bend it into shape, and run a ton of current through it to melt it all together? We believe there is a more elegant solution. Why not print a tube pattern on a flat sheet of metal, fold it up and glue / rivet it together? With our method, frames can be “printed” at a local shop and assembled by anyone who can glue and operate a rivet gun. Also, our technique skips any welding that can weaken the the frame material by creating heat affected regions at the joints. Heat affected regions soften the material near welded joints.

When can I get my frame?
We designed and built the first prototype in just under three weeks. In order to ensure the optimal performance of this design style, we’d like to take about double that time to run some iterations and explorations. After that, the first orders could start rolling out after a week and we plan on fabricating at a rate of 100 bike frames every six weeks. Of course, if we start outselling our projections, we can start hiring to speed up the process.

Where will the frames be produced?
The long term aim of our company is to promote local production, which empowers communities and cuts down on transportation issues. At the moment, we have set up partnerships with producers in the Bay Area and on the East Coast. If quantities allow, we can set up shops closer to where the product is being used.


Want to read more?
Follow this link for more information on Ronin Metal Masters and our patent pending technology: http://www.roninmetalmasters.com/index.html or here for the bike project specifically http://www.roninmetalmasters.com/ronin-bicycle-works.html
We have established a site for our bicycle frame project here: http://www.roninbicycleworks.com, a blog here: http://roninbicycleworks.blogspot.com and facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/RoninBicycleWorks

Support the project : http://www.ronin-bicycle-works-hand-folded-metal-bicycle-fram?ref=category