Peloton created a fun way to exercise back in 2014. They haven’t stopped moving since, launching a new bike realized with 3D printing.

Back in 2014, Peloton introduced a sleek and silent exercise bike which lets you live stream classes over Wi-Fi on a built in console.

Not a company to rest on their laurels, they’ve now unveiled a new commercial bike and content platform at CES 2017. They hope to extend their cycling ecosystem to public places, hotels, universities, or even hospitals. 

But Peloton have found they need to work quickly to release new products; the competition in the industry has grown heated thanks to rivals like FlyWheel Sports and SoulCycle.

Of course, what better way to efficiently and cost-effectively prototype than with 3D printing? Peloton’s industrial design team used MakerBot to prototype small components on a bike and speed up design cycles.

Speaking of the company’s MakerBot, Jason Poure, Director of Industrial Design said: “It’s our primary 3D printing solution. Any designer can walk in the door and start 3D printing.”

Peloton Rapidly Prototyping a Big Red Button

In just over a year, more than one hundred iterations for twenty parts were printed by the industrial design team. With MakerBot, Peloton could save approximately $20,000 dollars and also a few months in time.

Arguably one of the most important components on the bike is the red button which controls resistance. Poure explained: “You want the touchpoint of your brand to be the most beautiful element.”

To create a beautiful button, industrial design Nigel Alcorn began with drawings in Illustrator or CAD. He then modeled these in SolidWorks and would print the final designs.

Alcorn and Poure were then able to discuss which design worked best and go from there. After 36 different iterations, they decided on a design with three valleys and three peaks.

When talking about the precision of 3D printing with MakerBot, Alcorn said: “I can make a really educated comparison between two models that have a single feature that’s different by a millimeter.”

As well as saving time and cutting costs, the team were able to 3D print to “verify ergonomic placement, scale, and size right on the spot” according to Poure. For him, this can really help him decide which part is ready for production and which needs more time. After this decision is made, the team uses injection-molding for the final versions.

Peloton is working on creating an experience which is social and high-energy. However, they’re always in a rush to create a product which will leave competitors far behind. With 3D printing they’re able to do this more easily.

Source: MakerBot