MINNEAPOLIS & REHOVOT, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
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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