Betatype

Betatype / Research.

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This Formula 1® radiator was engineered in collaboration with i2M, exploiting the design freedom of Additive Manufacturing to create a high surface area thermal solution in an novel form factor. To read more about this project and more, click on the website link in our description. #architecturedmaterials #london #engine#bespokematerialdevelopment#engineered #additivemanufacturing#software #productdevelopment#production #futurematerials #formula1#motorracing

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Bespoke Architectured Material Development

Betatype uses Additive Manufacturing to create Architectured Materials. Our materials enable possibilities for products that are impossible with established monolithic matter. Applying them requires you to rethink everything, from how you design to the way you manufacture.

From medical implants to automotive components, we’ve worked with everyone from startups to global OEM’s to deliver solutions in elastomer, polymeric and metal based Architectured Materials.

Our material development processes covers everything from material microstructure to macro performance using established testing techniques for your industry.

Link here to read more

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Carbon Handlebar. Fitted onto a 80's peugeot frame road bike (top) & closeup (bottom). —

Designing any performance component often requires striking a balance between stiffness, strength and weight. Often for these applications we traditionally turn to high-grade metals such as steel, aluminium and titanium alloys which sit at the apex in terms of mechanical performance. The tradeoff with these materials is their high density, which makes them impractically heavy to use in solid form.

To combat this we combine these materials with a range of cross-sectional profiles: tubes and I-beams being classic examples. Different shapes provide different mechanical characteristics from bending to torsion so it is critical to consider the mechanical application in order to maximise structural efficiency.

Our vocabulary of such shapes has always been limited by our ability to manufacture them. New processes however are challenging these long standing limits, enabling us to now explore three dimensional architectures. This ability allows us to push objects and components even further in terms of not only their structural efficiency but also the mechanical behaviours they can create — Nature has always used architectural complexity in this manner to produce mechanical functionality beyond the limits of its material palette.

Designing a plastic handlebar is a challenge in terms of both strength and stiffness and we can utilise a material architecture to make the most of the material.  In simple mechanical terms a handlebar is a cylindrical beam held at its centre experiencing cantilevered forces applied at the tips. The maximum stress experienced by the beam is at the point where the bar meets the stem. 

Simulation of consecutive layers of laser profiles for two SLS handlebars  based upon a standard tube profile (top) and an architectured design (bottom) —

To combat this we employ an architecture that switches from tube to solid. Dimpling the surface of the skin adds further structural integrity as well as a better gripping surface for the rider. The thin wall section of the skin further away from the bar is reinforced by an over-constrained lattice structure in the core of the bar.

Carbon filled plastics use short fibers to boost their mechanical properties while retaining their ability to be formed through standard plastic manufacturing processes. The benefits are less pronounced as woven carbon fibre composites but such materials are capable of being almost an order of magnitude stiffer than the plain variety with little cost in terms of density. The handlebar is constructed from a carbon filled nylon approximately 3 times stiffer than off the shelf ABS. The architecture was developed and optimised based upon this material with care taken to take advantage of the anisotropic properties resulting from fibre orientation.

Carbon handlebar and titanium tube handlebar. —

The final straight bar weights just under 150 g with a bulk density of 0.84 g / cm3. Measuring real world mechanical performance was done through a cantilevered beam test to simulate the typical loading the bar experiences in everyday use. In these tests the bar peaked at loads of 1.5kN before failing about 150 kilos being hung at the tip of the bar.

Cantilevered loading test on an carbon handlebar. —

But performance in the real world is rarely about numbers alone. In the end the pressing question beyond mechanical capability is how does it feel under everyday conditions, from extreme forces to outdoor weather and in these occasions the only way to test this is first hand.

In everyday use. —

I've ridden some 250 miles on this handlebar on London's pothole-laden-freak-rain-soaked street. I'm happy to throw my full weight into this thing with little evidence of fatigue or wear so far. I'll let you know how it fares at the 1000 mile mark.

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Fibrous Construct (test specimen). Macro Detail. —

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Sintered Titanium. Macro Detail. —

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New Cellular Fabrics. Detail (top) and Macro detail (bottom). —

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Super Elastic Foams. Sample swatch (top), under hands-on compression (bottom). —

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We're now part of the D2W studio community.

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To the Micron — A new architecture through high-resolution multi-scalar design and manufacturing. Architectural Design, January/February 2014, Wiley, London. Architectural-design-magazine.com — A detailed article on the design principles and architectural concepts behind Interface/4 and our previous work.

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Structural Optics. Interface /4 is part at the Artist's Gallery at the 3D Print Show, London. 7th — 9th November. 3dprintshow.com —

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Architectured Stainless Steel. Macro detail of sample. —

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Structural Optics. Interface /4 as part of Blueprint's Stand at Design Junction. 18th — 22nd September, 2013. thedesignjunction.co.uk —

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Interface /4 is part of an ongoing series of experiments investigating the design potential afforded by additive manufacturing for Architecture.

This fourth generation prototype is a 1:1 interface exploring how optical variability can be achieved through localised channeling and diffracting material structures.

Constructed of laser sintered nylon, the prototype consists of over 100 components with 10 different structural geometries leading to the majority of the structure achieving a thickness of 1mm.

Optimised for near site production, the entire prototype was built in a single laser sintering tank in over 4,700 120μm layers over 5 days.

Interface /4 and its precursor experiments intend to show how the opportunities for additive manufacturing in architecture extend beyond localised or near site manufacture, rather enabling unforseen levels of control within an architectural components material properties from the optical to the mechanical, thermal or even electrical.

The challenge for additive manufacturing's application is not solely in the underlying technology, but critically within design's ability to manage both the conceptual complexity and massive data flow that it presents. A revolution in manufacturing is limited without a revolution in design processes to meet it.

Designed by Richard Beckett, Sarat Babu & Vasilis Chlorokostas. Sponsored by Netfabb.

Temporarily installed in Wates House, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

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Stereolithographic Fabrics. Experimental AM fabrics as part of Layer by Layer at Fashion Space Gallery, London College of Fashion, London. 10th April 2013 — 18th May 2013. www.fashionspacegallery.com —

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Hybrid Material Architecture — Interface /3 Videos & Images from 3rd generation scale prototypes exploring additive manufacturing in architecture. Part of New Material — New Architecture? Seminar at Århus Arkitektskolen, Denmark. 19th March 2013. —

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Variable Elasticity. Clip from Bespoke Materials, part of the DAMADEI 20' x 20' Symposium at ROCA Gallery. 1st March 2013. damadei.eu —