Posts

It’s a great day—because we’re really getting close to a finished product, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. The frame feels surprisingly solid, even though it’s just PLA at this stage. To check the fit, I quickly assembled everything, and so far, it looks right. That’s a good sign. What’s Next on the Design Side Back brake holder → Still needs to be designed. Seat post → Needs to be solid and sturdy. 3D scanning experiments → Trying out scanning for some tricky parts. Bamboo bars → Still experimenting with slightly smaller diameters. Luckily, the resin is very forgiving, so using a little extra material is no problem. Upcoming Plans High-resolution lug set → Printing a full set in PA12CF. Design isn’t final yet, since I’ll be making a lot of changes over the next week. Laser engraving → Testing on the bamboo tubes to see what kind of detail and look we can achieve. Head lug orientation → Current setup isn’t optimal, so adjustments are on the table. Color experiments → Thinking about giving one lug a different color. I’ll also be trying out more colors soon, since these will tie into the website configurator and the overall branding style. Every iteration gets us closer to the vision—and this week feels like a real step forward. ...

The first prints are here! Feels amazing. I’m really excited, but I also immediately learned a lesson: don’t go overboard with support material. Most of it wasn’t even needed, and taking it off was a pain. Let’s just say it’s not my favorite workout. Also, there’s now an official email address: hello@openframe.cc. Feel free to reach out if you have questions. With a proper address I can finally start setting up socials too, to share photos, videos, and timelapses (like the one below). ...

Alright, I was definitely getting ahead of myself again. Time to take a step back and keep things a little simpler – at least for now. I’ve got all the materials needed to build a bike… except the actual knowledge to build one. Which is kind of a key ingredient. Trying to set it up with a rear cassette was blocking my progress. Turns out it’s way more complicated than just drilling a hole in the dropout and bolting it on. Extra wiring, less space, questions about strength – suddenly a whole list of issues I wasn’t ready to tackle this early. ...

Loading 3D model… 📏 Measure ↺ ⛶ Please enable JavaScript to view the 3D model.

Today I pushed forward with the CAD design. Every step makes it more obvious why every single part needs to be modeled with exact dimensions. In the screenshot below you can spot the main issue: the back tire clashes with the frame. On top of that, the front gear has barely a millimeter of clearance from the frame – way too tight. Definitely need more tolerance there. Tomorrow I’ll continue with the wheels, the front fork, and the saddle. Stay tuned! ...

The dummy bike has landed! Finally, the dummy bike is here. I jumped right into disassembly, and everything went smoothly… until I hit the bottom bracket. Turns out, I’ll need some special tools for that job. So: I ordered a bottom bracket removal tool, a crank puller, and—just in case the old bottom bracket refuses to budge—a dirt-cheap Shimano BB-UN300 crankshaft as backup. The headset bearings were press-fit, so I knocked them out. Hopefully, I didn’t ruin them, but the good news is: I can now measure them easily and maybe even reuse them on the new build. ...

I put together a small Python app that lets us manage Autodesk Inventor iProperties without opening the parts in Inventor itself. It reads metadata, shows it in a simple table, allows inline editing, and writes changes back to the files. This is very handy to structure the model library from in an early stage. Core features Reads key iProperties (Part Number, Description, Comments, Date Checked). Inline editing in a Dear PyGui table. Pushes updates back to the files through Inventor’s COM interface. Exports everything to a clean Markdown overview. Falls back to file modification time when “Date Checked” is missing. Basic material assignment support for part files (.ipt). How it works Runs Inventor in the background via a dedicated COM worker thread. Handles metadata safely: open → edit → save → close. Table supports quick navigation with Tab / Shift+Tab / Enter. Status bar provides feedback on edits and actions. Why it’s useful This removes the need to open Inventor just to tweak iProperties. Instead, you can adjust metadata across multiple files in one go, faster and with less friction. ...

TL;DR This Python app gives you a fast, point-and-click way to view and edit Autodesk Inventor file metadata (.ipt, .iam, .idw, .dwg) in bulk. It: Scans a folder for Inventor files Reads key properties (Part Number, Title, Subject, Comments, Revision, Date Checked) Lets you edit most fields inline in a table UI (Dear PyGui) Writes updates back to the native Inventor files via COM Auto-updates Date Checked when anything changes Exports a Markdown “Part Registry” table for your notes/wiki It keeps Inventor automation safely tucked in a dedicated COM thread, so the UI stays snappy and doesn’t deadlock. ...

Crunch time! If all goes well, we might actually be riding a working bike by the end of this week. But first, a few critical steps need to fall into place. Step one: the dummy frame is on its way. And trust me, that’s a big deal. Without those parts, I can’t take measurements, and without measurements, there are no finished lug designs. The bottom bracket and seat lug are basically done, but the head lug is trickier. From the photos, the headset looks semi-integrated, and that’s a minefield: there are so many variants out there that I need exact measurements before I risk ordering the wrong one. ...

Friday already?! Can’t believe how fast the past three weeks have flown by – felt like riding a bullet train. Not every day was equally productive, but that’s all part of the ride. In my so-called “free” time, I mostly did research: hunting down the right resin, finding a dummy bike, checking out parts… And yeah, there’s still a mountain of market research waiting for me. But top priority is crystal clear: get this MVP bike rolling! ...