Following the completion of the highly successful track bike for the Tokyo Olympics, Renishaw, a manufacturer of metrology machines and 3D printers for metal, and British Cycling, the British cycling organisation, have extended their partnership to 2024. As the team’s official supplier, Renishaw will use its expertise in additive manufacturing to create lightweight, complex parts for an improved track bike design aimed at reducing drag and improving speed for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In 2019, British Cycling, the UK’s national cycling governing body, invited Renishaw to join the team developing Olympic bicycles. Renishaw’s expertise in metal 3D printing and advanced engineering was seen as essential to enable the production of lighter, more complex components than traditional manufacturing methods, allowing the team to increase the speed of the bike.
For the Tokyo bicycle, Renishaw used its expertise to quickly produce plastic and metal prototype parts to carry out aerodynamic testing of the new design and ensure that the parts were light, geometrically correct and strong enough to withstand the stresses of the riders. After confirming that the parts were viable, the company used its RenAM 500Q AM systems to produce aluminum and titanium parts, including handlebars for competition motorcycles, with parts tailored to individual athletes.
Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics, the aim is to increase the bike’s speed through an improved design that will further improve the UK cycling team’s performance and chances of success, after seven medals won at the Tokyo Olympics.
“We are really excited to be working with the British Cycling team again after the success in Tokyo,” said Ben Collins, Senior Applications Engineer in Renishaw’s additive manufacturing group. “Making a bike that was light enough for Olympic competition and also met Union Cycliste Internationale guidelines was a challenge, but it also gave us the opportunity to demonstrate how additive manufacturing can be beneficial across all industries.”
In 2020, Hope-Lotus track bikes helped make British Olympic history in Tokyo. Laura Kenny became the most decorated British Olympian of all time after winning a gold medal in Madison with Katie Archibald and a silver medal in the women’s team pursuit. Jason Kenny also became Britain’s most successful Olympian, winning gold in the men’s keirin and silver in the men’s team sprint.
Source: www.renishaw.com
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