PROTOTYPING: Trek Bicycles Chooses Objet for Rapid Prototyping and Fast Functional Testing

Why wait 28 days for a CNC part when you can get it in 2 hours?

This is the sort of question that every designer, engineer and manufacturing company should be asking themselves – particularly in today’s economic climate where competition is stiff and markets are tough. Manufacturing is expensive enough without the addition of extra delays and tooling costs associated with milling prototypes.

That’s where 3D printing can make a big difference.

Along the banks of the Maunesha River, nestled between Madison and Milwaukee, is the city of Waterloo – home to Trek Bicycles.

Trek is one of the world’s top bicycle producers. In the clip below, Mike Zeigle and Guadalupe Ollarzabal explain how 3D printing has cut their prototyping time down from 28 days to just a single day, and with the use of Objet’s ABS-like material, allows them to test functional parts on their bikes – in the field – just hours after seeing them designed on screen!