Stratasys Luge
Team USA worked with the Composite Solutions Group at Stratasys to gear up for the Winter Games.
The USA Winter Olympic Luge team harnessed Stratasys FDM 3D printing technology to manufacture prototypes of its racing sleds ahead of the games currently being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Team USA reported a quicker and more cost-effective build and test phase, as they designed and manufactured customised sleds tailored to the bodies of each of its athletes. Customised designs are preferred to give the athletes as big an advantage as possible as they race at speeds upwards of 87 miles per hour.
Additive manufacturing has been of particular benefit in the design for the Doubles Tower, a composite structure at the sled’s front. The Doubles Tower is used to accurately position the rider’s legs during the race, maximising the aerodynamics. A difficult structure to manufacture because of the complex, ‘trapped-tool’ geometry, Team USA were able to 3D print the mandrel, layup, cure the composite structure, and wash out the Stratasys ST-130 tooling material all in less than one week.
This encouraged the team to then harness Stratasys’ FDM technology to 3D print the entire sled body layup tool. This design features a removable middle section, enabling the tool length to be adjusted based on the riders’ respective heights. Due to this successful incorporation of 3D printing, the team is currently using the same tooling for final sled components during the 23rd Winter Olympics.
Stratasys Luge winter olympics
The composite structure at the sled's front used during the Double Luge.
“Competitive luge racing is an extremely demanding sport where fractions of a second are the difference between winning and losing. Our riders depend on comfortable, aerodynamic sled designs to win races,” said USA Luge Technical Programs Manager, Jon Owen. “In teaming with Stratasys, we’ve become much more competitive on the world stage – continually adjusting designs and running them on the track much faster than traditional processes. Additionally, we’ve balanced both comfort and performance by tailoring the sled to each rider’s body, while minimising fabrication cost and time.”
The Winter Olympic luge finals have been taking place this week, starting on February 10th and concluding on February 15th. In the Men’s Singles, Chris Mazdzer picked up a silver medal for Team USA, while in the Women’s Singles America’s Erin Hamlin finished in sixth place. Team USA also failed to pick up a medal in the Doubles, but will compete in the Luge Relay on Thursday 15th.
Though a so-far mixed bag of performances for the American Luge team, it’s another successful use of FDM technology for Stratasys to celebrate.
“Stratasys customers push the limits of performance, efficiency, and reliability for 3D printed rapid tooling, prototypes, and production parts,” commented Scott Sevcik, Vice President of Manufacturing Solutions at Stratasys. “Partnering with USA Luge highlights a perfect example of an environment where our additive manufacturing technology enables customers to meet critical needs in specialised applications. We’re proud to partner with Team USA, one of the best teams in winter sports, to help them apply the power of FDM technology to keep moving faster, in the shop, and on the track.”
