Lifeboat Foundation

Performance Factors Include Spike Geometry

This technology is perfectly suited to the spike plates in bobsleigh, which, until now, was essentially off-the-shelf. 3D printing opens up entirely new possibilities. Performance factors such as geometry – where exactly the spikes placed, the number of struts and teeth, and the weight can be efficiently varied. The spike plates can be printed quickly and inexpensively, tested by athletes until the optimal result is achieved. There is no longer a standard; the efficiency of the process allows for the production of individual plates for each athlete. The ongoing optimisations are expected to be completed by the 2026 Winter Olympics. The experts are also targeting the stiffness of the plates and, consequently, the shoes because not every athlete performs best with the same shoe stiffness.

Another milestone in this journey was reached this year. Various materials for 3D printing are now available for the spikes, tested by athletes. The use of special construction software is also new. It is utilised to optimise components for vehicles as well as equipment for BMW Group production systems in terms of weight and stiffness. This software also aids engineers at the BMW Group in designing the spike plates. It allows for the rapid, automated, and, above all, individually tailored creation of the respective 3D print data. The preferred parameters of each athlete – such as geometry, stiffness, number, and shape of spikes – are automatically incorporated into the design and adapted to the individual plates, based on 3D scans of the athletes’ shoes. This algorithmic design process results in significant time savings and maximum variability.

Porsche isn’t directly targeting the Tesla Model Y with the new Macan EV, but the two vehicles have many surprising similarities.

Engineers and material scientists have been trying to develop increasingly advanced devices, to meet the growing needs of the electronics industry. These devices include electrostatic capacitors, devices that can store electrical energy in a dielectric between a pair of electrodes through the accumulation of electric charge on the dielectric surfaces.

These capacitors are crucial components of various technologies, including electric vehicles and photovoltaics (PVs). They are often fabricated using polymers as dielectric materials, synthetic substances made up of large organic molecules with good intrinsic flexibility and insulating properties.

Researchers at Tsinghua University and other institutes in China recently introduced a new strategy to fabricate polymer composites filled with subnanosheets exhibiting highly advantageous properties. Their proposed method, outlined in a Nature Energy paper, allowed them to fabricate a 100-meter-long roll of a polymer-based subnanocomposite film.

The future of mobility will prioritize performance, and environment-friendly solutions as BMW hydrogen engines will change the world.

We finally got our first look at the new all-electric Porsche Macan EV this week. Porsche’s electric Macan features a 100 kWh battery pack that will reportedly be supplied by China’s CATL.

Ten years after debuting the SUV, Porsche revealed the all-electric Macan Thursday. The electric Macan is Porsche’s second EV, after the Taycan and the first fully electric SUV to wear the iconic badge.

The Macan EV is also the first existing Porsche model to receive an electric upgrade. With 87,355 Macan models handed over last year, the SUV plays a critical role in Porsche’s lineup.

These 2023 model-year battery-electric cars can travel the farthest on a full charge.

To make things even more interesting (or weird), there’s a mime (yes, you read that right) in the middle of the street, somehow unfazed by all the surrounding water, who reacts in a way only a mime could (we don’t know what those moves mean, so take that as you may).

Taking both X posts into consideration, there are about 1,000 comments–some say the car would malfunction in a matter of minutes, others say that nothing will happen, while some referred to Elon Musk’s words from 2016 when he said that “the Model S floats well enough to turn it into a boat for short periods of time.”

Our plans include a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV.

GM and Honda start large-scale hydrogen fuel cell production, aiming to overcome challenges and revolutionize green transportation.

Dive into the details of NASA’s collaboration with Sikorsky and DARPA, as autonomous helicopters navigate simulated skies over Long Island Sound.

Explore the skies with NASA’s autonomous flight software, steering Sikorsky helicopters through air taxi tests. The technology can change the way we fly.