Stratasys and USA Luge Go for Gold with Additive Manufacturing at 2018 Winter Games

• 3D printing drives significant cost savings compared to traditional
  manufacturing, dramatically advancing speed, performance, and
  customization of competitive racing sleds
• Team USA collaborates with Stratasys to power design and
  development of complex, composite layup and sacrificial tooling –
  enabling sled track speeds of nearly 90 miles per hour

MINNEAPOLIS & REHOVOT, Israel–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Advancing its winning track-record as a global leader in applied
additive technology solutions, Stratasys (NASDAQ:
SSYS) today announced the company has teamed with USA Luge to inject
additive manufacturing into its quest for gold in Pyeongchang, South
Korea this month. Harnessing the power of Stratasys Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology, the luge team is now able to more
rapidly and cost-effectively build and test customized racing sleds
tailored to the body of each athlete.

USA Luge is tapping into a wide range of high-performance materials from
Stratasys to 3D print key layup and sacrificial tools used during
manufacturing of carbon-fiber composite sleds. The advanced
functionality of FDM enables an unprecedented level of customization not
possible with standard composite fabrication – a critical success factor
in racing sleds that often travel at speeds upwards of 87 miles per hour.

Additive manufacturing is key for engineering mandrels for the racing
team’s Doubles Tower – a composite structure at the sled’s front, used
to accurately position riders’ legs during competition. Extremely
difficult to fabricate due to complex, trapped-tool geometry – the
structure guarantees proper athlete fit and position while racing.
Leveraging the Stratasys ST-130 sacrificial (wash-out) tooling material,
team designers were able to 3D print the mandrel, layup and cure the
composite structure, and wash-out the tooling material – all in less
than one week.

“Competitive luge racing is an extremely demanding sport where fractions
of a second are the difference between winning and losing. Our riders
depend on comfortable, aerodynamic sled designs to win races,” said USA
Luge Technical Programs Manager, Jon Owen. “In teaming with Stratasys,
we’ve become much more competitive on the world stage – continuously
adjusting designs and running them on the track much faster than
traditional processes. Additionally, we’ve balanced both comfort and
performance by tailoring the sled to each rider’s body, while minimizing
fabrication cost and time.”

Based on the success of Doubles Tower construction, Team USA has pushed
the technology even further by 3D printing the entire sled body layup
tool. This particular design incorporates a removable middle section,
allowing tool length to adjust based on each rider’s height. Driven by
these efforts during prototyping, designers are currently using this
same tooling for final sled components during competition.

“Stratasys customers push the limits of performance, efficiency, and
reliability for 3D printed rapid tooling, prototypes and production
parts. Partnering with USA Luge highlights a perfect example of an
environment where our additive manufacturing technology enables
customers to meet critical needs in specialized applications,” said
Scott Sevcik, Vice President of Manufacturing Solutions at Stratasys.
“We’re proud to partner with Team USA, one of the best teams in winter
sports, to help them apply the power of FDM technology to keep moving
faster, in the shop, and on the track.”

Competitive luge races in Pyeongchang are taking place February 10-15,
with Stratasys-powered sleds leading the way. For more information on
how Stratasys can accelerate your business and lean manufacturing
strategies, please visit: http://www.stratasys.com/solutions/additive-manufacturing.

Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) is a global leader in applied additive
technology solutions for industries including Aerospace, Automotive,
Healthcare, Consumer Products and Education. For nearly 30 years, a deep
and ongoing focus on customers’ business requirements has fueled
purposeful innovations—1,200 granted and pending additive technology
patents to date—that create new value across product lifecycle
processes, from design prototypes to manufacturing tools and final
production parts. The Stratasys 3D printing ecosystem of solutions and
expertise—advanced materials; software with voxel level control;
precise, repeatable and reliable FDM and PolyJet 3D printers;
application-based expert services; on-demand parts and industry-defining
partnerships—works to ensure seamless integration into each customer’s
evolving workflow. Fulfilling the real-world potential of additive,
Stratasys delivers breakthrough industry-specific applications that
accelerate business processes, optimize value chains and drive business
performance improvements for thousands of future-ready leaders around
the world.

Corporate Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel.

Online at: www.stratasys.com,
http://blog.stratasys.com and LinkedIn.

Stratasys and FDM are registered trademarks and PolyJet and the
Stratasys signet are trademarks of Stratasys Ltd. and or its
subsidiaries or affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.

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