Munich. A rule of thumb in bobsleigh is that success is one-third begin time, one-third tools, and one-third efficiency on the steering pulley. When pushing off, it’s the athletic prowess of the athletes that’s key, however as in observe and area, footwear additionally impacts having the ability to generate most acceleration. Yet, whereas there are lots of several types of spiked footwear tailor-made to the necessities of various disciplines and private preferences obtainable for high-performance sport on the tartan observe, comparable merchandise for the ice channel have lengthy been missing.
As know-how associate of the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (BSD), BMW Group is dedicated to altering this – and utilizing 3D printing processes from automotive improvement and manufacturing, additionally they have the right methodology and the required experience to implement the challenge.
Defined rows of nails are completely connected to the toe space of the soles of convential bobsleigh footwear; these nails can’t be changed or moved, that means that when the nails have worn out, the shoe is destined for the garbage heap. The resolution that BMW and the BSD are engaged on relies on observe and area footwear, for which threads for screw spikes are used to connect spike plates on which the spike nails can largely be distributed with out restriction. This combines a number of benefits. There is a big choice of shoe types, so athletes can use a shoe that fits their particular person wants. The materials and geometry of the plate, in addition to the location of the spike nails, can be utilized to fluctuate the rigidity and, above all, the facility transmission to the ice. With respect to particular person operating types in addition to the completely different operating paths that the assorted positions entail, particularly in a 4-man bobsleigh, this ensures higher acceleration than normal spikes may ever make doable.
In apply, which means customised spike plates should be designed and effectively manufactured for every athlete, a activity with which the BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Center may be very acquainted. Here, plastics and metals are used to provide numerous parts with out the necessity for instruments or moulds. “We have been using 3D printing to make components for prototypes, customised one-offs, as well as for series production for more than 30 years,” stated Claudia Rackl, BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Projects & Qualification. “The major advantages of 3D printing are the time and cost savings as well as a high degree of flexibility. This allows us to quickly manufacture, test and efficiently optimise different variants.”
BMW Group engineers have transferred this experience from automotive engineering on to bobsleigh. The geometry of the spike plates is developed utilizing software program and routinely aligned with the topography of the person footwear, which was recorded by a 3D scanner. The spike plates are then printed by a laser welding the corresponding metallic powder collectively layer by layer.
Various alloys and geometrics are presently being examined and refined till the optimum result’s discovered – similar to in automotive analysis and improvement. Once the perfect fundamental parameters have been decided, the software program can routinely adapt the design of the spike plate to any kind of shoe, any shoe dimension, and any variety of attachment factors on the only of the shoe. It will even be doable to provide particular spike plates for the person necessities of athletes and even for various climate and ice situations.
“We tested the spike plates in the World Cup and received a lot of positive feedback from the athletes,” stated bobsleigh head coach René Spies. “Nevertheless, a few tweaks are still necessary here and there, but we expect to have the perfect shoes to compete in by the 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the latest.”
This would then create the perfect situations for the primary third on the street to success, the optimum begin time.