Renishaw engineering expertise helped British cyclists pedal to Olympic glory
‘IT WAS REALLY EXCITING TO SEE RENISHAW’S EXPERTISE PLAY A PIVOTAL PART IN GREAT BRITAIN’S PUSH FOR OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS’
A global engineering firm with its HQ near Bristol has revealed how it helped produce an innovative new track bike for the Great Britain Cycling Team.
Renishaw used all its expertise in additive manufacturing (3D printing) to help produce the high-tech bike which helped the cycling team bag seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
The HB.T improves on previous designs by using a lightweight build to reduce drag and improve overall speed.
Ben Collins, a Design/Development Engineer for Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Group, was involved throughout the project.
He said: “It was really exciting to see Renishaw’s expertise play a pivotal part in Great Britain’s push for Olympic gold medals at Tokyo.”
“The team won three gold medals, three silver and one bronze, which was a brilliant achievement for the cyclists and a great showcase for the benefits of additive manufacturing.”
As such, Renishaw is surely the perfect sponsor for the prestigious Innovation Award at the Bristol Live Business Awards 2021.
LIGHT FANTASTIC
Renishaw was approached by British Cycling in early 2019 and asked to join the HB.T development team due to its additive manufacturing expertise.
Ben explained: “Lotus Engineering was already collaborating with cycling component manufacturer
Hope Technology to build the HB.T.”
“As part of the project, they wanted to improve the bike’s speed to help the Great Britain Cycling Team improve its performances and push for medals.”
“We knew that metal 3D printing could build lighter, more complex components than traditional manufacturing methods.”
“We had to make the bike light enough to be fit for Olympic competition and realised that optimising strength to weight would be key to success.”
RENISHAW IS SPONSORING THE INNOVATION AWARD
The Bristol Live Business Awards are a much-anticipated event on the region’s corporate calendar.
The glittering awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, December 15. For more details, see https://reachplcevents.com/events/ west/bristollive-business-awards/.
Renishaw is sponsoring the Innovation Award, to celebrate new ideas, processes, products, services, technologies and applications that have had an impact on an organisation’s success over the past 12 months.
Head of communications Chris Pockett said: “Innovation has always been the watchword of Renishaw so we’re delighted to honour firms in Bristol who are taking an inventive approach in a very challenging year.”
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE
Renishaw initially used its AM expertise to rapidly produce plastic and metal prototype parts to undertake aerodynamic testing of the new design.
It also had to ensure the parts were light, geometrically correct and strong enough to endure the strain from riders.
After proof of concept, the company then used its own RenAM 500Q AM systems to manufacture aluminium and titanium parts, including handlebars, for the competition bikes, with parts customised for individual athletes.
As a result, the bike was built and tested in time to be piloted during the opening round of the 2019/2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup series in Minsk back in November 2019.
BRITISH OLYMPIC HISTORY
Fast forward 18 months to Tokyo 2020, and the hi-tech HB.T bikes were soon a crucial part of British Olympic history.
Laura Kenny became the most successful British female Olympian of all time after winning a gold medal in the Madison with Katie Archibald, and a silver medal in the women’s team pursuit.
Jason Kenny also became Britain’s most successful Olympian ever, winning Gold in the men’s keirin and silver in the men’s team sprint.
Unsurprisingly, Renishaw will now be providing ongoing support for the Great Britain Cycling Team as part of a longer-term ‘official supplier’ partnership.
Tony Purnell, Head of Technology for British Cycling, said: “When you do something new and brave you have lots of difficulties to overcome and that is where Renishaw has been fantastic.”
“The Renishaw team has worked with the engineers to do the refinement at breakneck speed.”
“In the past, it would take months to go from the drawing board to a piece that you could try in the test rig or in the velodrome and now we can do it in weeks.”
For further information about Renishaw’s additive manufacturing products and services, see https://www.renishaw.com/en/ metal-3d-printing—32084.
The Bristol Live Business Awards will take place on Wednesday, December 15.
For more details and to nominate, see https://reachplcevents.com/events/ west/bristollive-business-awards/.