Stratasys and USA Luge Go for Gold with Additive Manufacturing at 2018 Winter Games
February 14 2018 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
- 3D printing drives significant cost
savings compared to traditional manufacturing, dramatically
advancing speed, performance, and customization of competitive
racing sleds
- Team USA collaborates with Stratasys to
power design and development of complex, composite layup and
sacrificial tooling – enabling sled track speeds of nearly 90 miles
per hour
Advancing its winning track-record as a global leader in applied
additive technology solutions, Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) today
announced the company has teamed with USA Luge to inject additive
manufacturing into its quest for gold in Pyeongchang, South Korea
this month. Harnessing the power of Stratasys Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology, the luge team is now able to
more rapidly and cost-effectively build and test customized racing
sleds tailored to the body of each athlete.
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Team USA worked with the Composite
Solutions Group at Stratasys to gear up for the Winter Games
(Photo: Business Wire)
USA Luge is tapping into a wide range of high-performance
materials from Stratasys to 3D print key layup and sacrificial
tools used during manufacturing of carbon-fiber composite sleds.
The advanced functionality of FDM enables an unprecedented level of
customization not possible with standard composite fabrication – a
critical success factor in racing sleds that often travel at speeds
upwards of 87 miles per hour.
Additive manufacturing is key for engineering mandrels for the
racing team’s Doubles Tower – a composite structure at the sled’s
front, used to accurately position riders’ legs during competition.
Extremely difficult to fabricate due to complex, trapped-tool
geometry – the structure guarantees proper athlete fit and position
while racing. Leveraging the Stratasys ST-130 sacrificial
(wash-out) tooling material, team designers were able to 3D print
the mandrel, layup and cure the composite structure, and wash-out
the tooling material – all in less than one week.
“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 – continuously 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 minimizing fabrication cost and
time.”
Based on the success of Doubles Tower construction, Team USA has
pushed the technology even further by 3D printing the entire sled
body layup tool. This particular design incorporates a removable
middle section, allowing tool length to adjust based on each
rider’s height. Driven by these efforts during prototyping,
designers are currently using this same tooling for final sled
components during competition.
“Stratasys customers push the limits of performance, efficiency,
and reliability for 3D printed rapid tooling, prototypes and
production parts. Partnering with USA Luge highlights a perfect
example of an environment where our additive manufacturing
technology enables customers to meet critical needs in specialized
applications,” said Scott Sevcik, Vice President of Manufacturing
Solutions at Stratasys. “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.”
Competitive luge races in Pyeongchang are taking place February
10-15, with Stratasys-powered sleds leading the way. For more
information on how Stratasys can accelerate your business and lean
manufacturing strategies, please visit:
http://www.stratasys.com/solutions/additive-manufacturing.
Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) is a global leader in applied additive
technology solutions for industries including Aerospace,
Automotive, Healthcare, Consumer Products and Education. For nearly
30 years, a deep and ongoing focus on customers’ business
requirements has fueled purposeful innovations—1,200 granted and
pending additive technology patents to date—that create new value
across product lifecycle processes, from design prototypes to
manufacturing tools and final production parts. The Stratasys 3D
printing ecosystem of solutions and expertise—advanced materials;
software with voxel level control; precise, repeatable and reliable
FDM and PolyJet 3D printers; application-based expert services;
on-demand parts and industry-defining partnerships—works to ensure
seamless integration into each customer’s evolving
workflow. Fulfilling the real-world potential of additive,
Stratasys delivers breakthrough industry-specific applications that
accelerate business processes, optimize value chains and drive
business performance improvements for thousands of future-ready
leaders around the world.
Corporate Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot,
Israel.
Online at: www.stratasys.com,
http://blog.stratasys.com and LinkedIn.
Stratasys and FDM are registered trademarks and PolyJet and the
Stratasys signet are trademarks of Stratasys Ltd. and or its
subsidiaries or affiliates. All other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.
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Stratasys Media ContactsCorporate and North
AmericaStratasysCraig Librett,
+1 518-424-2497Craig.librett@stratasys.comorJoe Hiemenz, +1
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