Interview process

• Customer Interview undertaken
• fit determined and contact points established
• A CAD drawing is created of a proposed frame
• Client review and sign off of CAD (this is an iterative process)
• Paint and decal choice made
• Principal component choices considered

Pre-build tasks

• Fabrication of tubes (roll-wrapped carbon)
• Molding of wishbones (bladder molded carbon, secondary machining)
• Fabrication of water bottle bosses, brake bridge and headset cups and drop-outs
• Computer Aided Cutting (CADCUT) of prepreg carbon

Individual frame construction

Prep

• Tubes selected from stock and inspected
• Dropouts bonded into proper stays. Cured overnight.
• Ends of tubes wrapped with custom degree uni-directional carbon
• Ti Bottom Bracket wrapped with carbon and cured separately, then sanded, media blasted and cleaned with Acetone
• Headtube wrapped with uni-directional
• Carbon Fiber for lugs (CADCUT kit) removed from freezer, 1 hour defrost
• Custom headtube panels cut from prepreg

Assembly

• Jig set up according to CAD
• Tubes inserted in the jig. BB, ST, HT, DT, TT, CS, then SS
• Each 45 degree wrap is overlapped to adjoining tube
• BB lug built from CADCUT kit (_{40 pieces of carbon)}
• HT lug built from CADCUT kit (30 pieces of carbon)
• ST lug built from CADCUT kit (~20 pieces of carbon)
• Lugs trimmed to final length
• Molds installed
• Mold compression plates installed
• Heat sinks installed
• Computer controlled cure starts
• Removal of molds

Finishing

• Removal of release film and flashing
• Alignment verified on granite table
• Beginning of sanding process, all done wet to minimize dust. All sanding, done by hand (With 4-8 hours of hand sanding per bike)
• Facing and chasing of bottom bracket threads/faces
• Once sanding is complete, frame is cleaned with solvent
• Seat tube slotted and drilled for clamp
• Bottom bracket drilled and tapped for cable guide
• Cable stops bonded to frame
• Water bottle bosses bonded to frame
• Brake bridge bonded to frame
• Headset cups bonded in to frame
• Dropouts cleaned up, new socket screws Loctited in place
• Clean up of epoxy from small part installation
• Inspection and wet sanding

Painting

• Thorough sanding and cleaning with solvents
• Application of adhesion promoter
• Base clear coat application. Cure overnight. Install serial number
• Wet sand, touch up if needed
• Decal or paint application
• Top coat (multiple) application. Cure overnight
• Wet sand, touch up if needed
• Hand and machine polish
• Release film applied to all joints (to prevent resin adhesion to tubes)

Final tasks

• Installation of seat clamp, water bottle hardware, cable guides
• Alignment check
• Final inspection
• Wrap with foam/bubble wrap. Box up
• Ship out

Arrives in UK

• Inspection
• Fun starts !!!