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What Goes Into Designing a Bobsled?

WHAT GOES INTO BUILDING A BOBSLED? In 2010, the United States Bobsledding Team raced to victory in their sled Night Train and earned a gold medal at the winter games in Vancouver, Canada. Fresh from their 2014 World Cup win, Team USA, led by driver Steve Holcomb, will attempt to win the gold for America at the winter games in Sochi, Russia. Their secret weapon: Night Train 2-a technologically sophisticated bobsled created by the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. PROCESS IN CONNECTICUT, Bo-Dyn Chief Engineer Bob Cuneo develops 3D designs on his computer using SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD software to create the Night Train 2, a world-class sled built for and sled built for speed. MULTIPLE VIRTUAL 3D NIGHT TRAIN 2 is constructed prototypes of Night Train 2 are produced using SOLIDWORKS software before manufacturing. Engineers were also able to model the behavior of the sled on the ice tracks using this software. at NASCAR® Racer Joey Logano's shop in North Carolina. NIGHT TRAIN 2 makes its inaugural run at Lake Placid, New York. NIGHT TRAIN 2 competes in the World Cup races in Konigssee, Germany. NIGHT TRAIN 2 is transported to Sochi, Russia to race the bobsledding tracks at the 2014 winter competition. ATTRIBUTES REDESIGNED cowling unit At the start of a race, bobsleds can reach speeds of 25 mph and cover the first 65 Length of ice track usually measures 1500 meters in length and consists of 15 to 20 turns. meters in 5 seconds. Sleds can reach speeds of 90 mph running through the straightaways. LIGHT weight carbon fiber body UP-TO-DATE PUSH steering handles RUNNERS AERODYNAMICALLY- optimized body STATE-OF-THE-ART suspension RUNNERS The driver controls the sled using rings and pulleys that are attached to steering mechanisms. The brakeman is responsible for lifting the brake and stopping the sled at the end of a race. Check points such as racers' weight, sled length and width, heating runners, etc. are maintained to Drivers must navigate by feel as much as sight. Team USA driver Steve Holcomb actually drove for years while legally blind until having corrective surgery in 2008. ensure fairness. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN BOBSLEDDING II 1959 I 1968 American engineer and physicists Art Tyler designed a bobsled that consisted of a Eugenio Monte added a push bar to the design of a bobsled that won the Gold tear-drop cowling that won the USA World Medal at the 1968 winter games in Grenoble, France. Championship of 1959. I 1972 Swiss driver Eric Scharer designed, in collaboration with Adidase, a shoe containing 365 spikes sticking out from the bottom that allowed athletes to push the sled across ice. 1980 Wind tunnels were created to provide aerodynamics to ensure maximum speed was reached. I 2002 Carbon fiber material is designed to be implemented into the body of bobsleds. WINTER GAMES I 1924 I 1932 Four-man bobsled race is held Two-man bobsled race at the first ever winter games is held at the games in Lake Placid, New York. in Chamonix, France. I 1948 I 1948 Art Tyler wins a bronze medal for Team USA in Cortina, Italy. Team USA wins a gold medal at the games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. W1998 I 2002 Two gold medals and two bronze medals for bobsledding were awarded for the first time at the First women's bobsled event is held at the games in Salt Lake City, Utah. The two-woman team took home a gold medal and the four-woman team earned bronze and silver medals - the first medals won by an American team in 46 years. winter games in Nagano, Japan. I 2010 Team USA races in the original Night Train sled and wins the gold medal for the four-man competition in Vancouver, Canada, the first gold medal for an American bobsledding team in 62 years. FUN FACTS EARLY BOBSLEDS WOMEN were made of wood, but then replaced by steel. BOBSLEDDING teams began surfacing at events in Europe and North America BOBSLEDDING BEGAN as 19th-century pastime for the well-to-do at in the early 1990s. Swiss Alpine resorts. BOBSLEDS are named after sled crews who would "bob" back and forth to gain momentum and speed on the race track. St. Moritz, Switzerland BOBSLEDDING takes incredible strength and stamina. By the 1950s, athletes from other THE FIRST bobsledding club was formed in St. Moritz, Switzerland in 1896. TODAY, bobsledding teams train year-round for competitions. disciplines started to take interest in the sport and wanted in on the action. SOURCES http://www.fibt.com/bobsleigh/history.html http://www.olympic.org/bobsleigh-equipment-and-history?tab=history http://www.bodynbobsled.com/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/olympics1998/sport/bobsled/articles/bobsled.htm http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2013/12/25/geoff-bodine-bobsled-project-innovation/4200547/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/2014-winter-olympics-bobsledder-steven-holcomb-sets-sights-on-2nd-olympic-gold/ http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/24/sports/olympics-men-s-bobsled-shimer-and-us-end-long-drive-for-a-medal.html http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20140203/OFFDU- TY04/302030020/Night-Train-rides-again-Army-s-bobsled-legacy-continues-Winter-Olympics http://www.pddnet.com/news/2014/01/bo-dyn-night-train-2-will-head-olympics DASSAULT SYSTEMES SOLIDWORKS The 3DEXPERIENCE Company

What Goes Into Designing a Bobsled?

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In 2010, the United States Four-Man Bobsleigh Team raced to victory in their sled "Night Train," winning the gold medal at the winter games in Vancouver, Canada. Led by driver Steve Holcomb, Team U...

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