Bicycle seats are a 3D printing success story.Often made using Carbon’s technology, high-end road bike saddles are now on offer from most premium bike saddle brands.Retailing for over $300, these are very profitable.
The seats spread impact and weight better, are cooler, and have been optimized to reduce long-term pain from long bike rides and sores.Lattice structures can be optimized throughout the saddle, and depending on your bones, butt, and ride, you can get a different seat.These seats can be individualized, but few companies are doing this now.
Bike seats are also a part of a higher-value item with a high per-kilo cost, such as racing bikes.Sometimes retailing for over $5,000, these bikes weigh less than nine kilos.That value and weight, coupled with performance increases that come with reduced weight, better balance, ride, and greater stiffness, mean that almost any material and manufacturing process is possible.
Due to varying constraints and features that can be optimized, many designs and structures can be specifically made for a rider or purpose to increase performance in one dimension.Given the high fetishization of racing bikes and the many hours fans spend watching them on TV, bicycle seating is perhaps the best case scenario for seating.Tour de France bikes, meanwhile, which used to cost around $5,000 only a few years ago, now range from $8,500 to $16,569 for the full bike that you see on TV.
With an average weight of 7.497 kg (and a minimum of 6.8 kg), the cost per kilo is staggering.Prices for the most expensive bikes are now approaching $2,000 per kilo.Bike seats are, therefore, definitely outliers and particularly attractive for 3D printing.
But, as we grow cheaper and more efficient as an industry, could we expand into different seating altogether? What about car and aircraft seats or perhaps office chairs? These applications seem less likely as the pads will probably have to be larger, and the cost for these items is lower, or there is no real room for personalization.Car Seats Rear seating of the Kia EV2 concept, showing the 3D knit backrest and modular bench design.Image courtesy of Kia.
There has been a lot of work on 3D printed car seats already.Indeed, some examples are public.A recent example from Kia shows off the EV2 concept car with 3D printed seat pads by OECHSLER.
These pads go further than others in that they showcase an entire rear two-seater bench made from a single 3D printed cushion.OECHSLER says that, “The car is still a concept, but we used technology, material, and processes which do allow us to transition this result directly into serial cars, as all specifications will be met.” As one of the driving forces behind bike seats, as well as backpack padding and other similar applications, OECHSLER is quickly becoming the number one player in 3D printed padding and beyond.It also really helps that they have deep experience as an automotive supplier.
In this case, these seats use Forward AM powder made on an HP MJF machine.The switch to MJF is probably because it is still impossible to meaningfully recycle resins, and car companies want more sustainable processes and materials.Flame retardancy could also play a role.
Front row of the Kia EV2 concept highlighting the minimalist dashboard, red-accented steering wheel, and integrated ambient lighting.Image courtesy of Kia.If anyone can make this happen, it’s OECHSLER; they have the scale, expertise, heft, and vision for this.
But, does it make sense? For most cars and most customers, probably not.But if the company could offer this either as an aftermarket accessory, as a particular option for people with back pain, or as an expensive but meaningful option with the car company, it could work.In each of these cases, we can develop a mechanism that allows some to pay for it if they find it meaningful.
Given the many hours many spend in their cars, a product like this or a customized one that is far more comfortable could find an audience.What’s more, as an aftermarket product, it could create a new product line or a new way to approach the market.Currently, car companies see the aftermarket as a revenue stream when things break.
But it can also see millions of past customers as an installed base to sell upgrades to.This could be very lucrative if done well.Porsche 911 finished in the ultra-rare “Explosive Gold” paint option, a custom color reportedly priced at around $100,000.
Image courtesy of Porsche.Porsche offers an option called Paint to Sample, which allows you to select a rare color for your car.But there is also Paint to Sample Plus, which lets you make a unique color.
This reportedly costs around $43,000 on the GT3, a car with a base price of $222,000.If a fifth of a car could be spent on a color, I’m thinking that for Porsche and similar brands, 3D printed seating is doable, at the very least for the driver’s seat.If someone wants a slightly crazier purple on a GT3 for the price of a 2019 Cayenne or Macan, we really should be able to figure this out, especially if we can customize it to someone’s body and improve comfort.
If Porsche can sell people a $100,000 paint job, then we should stop complaining about cost as something deterring us from entering the car market.It’s merely a question of finding the right marketer.We should not try to compete with every Camry, but rather offer a value proposition to Porsche, Koenigsegg, BMW, and the like that allows us to offer 3D printed car seats as an option.
At no risk to them, they can be the first to make their customers more comfortable as an option that will make them more money.This is technically and financially feasible now, at least for the driver’s seat.No more jammering about costs, but instead we take a tightly constructed value proposition to all the car companies of the world, and one of them will say yes.
Will it be Ford, GM, or Mercedes? I’m not sure, but I’m 100% positive that one of the hungry, ambitious Chinese players will say yes if they don’t.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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