Many cutting-edge technologies — including artificial intelligence, ‘big data’ and 3-D printing — are in daily use at Land Rover BAR, thanks to input from the team’s Technical Innovation Group (TIG).

TIG project manager George Sykes, of PA Consulting, said: “We use 3-D printing at three different levels. The simplest level is as a prototyping and visualisation tool. We manufacture a large number of custom parts and 3-D printing allows us to make full-size prototypes in-house before we commit to a design. The 3-D printer sits in the Land Rover BAR design office, and with little more than the click of a mouse, we can make a plastic version of almost anything the designers plan to create.”

Andy Claughton, Land Rover BAR’s chief technology officer, adds: “The prototyping process is really useful when we are trying to develop something. We get our hands on it, put it in place on the boat — or link it up with other parts of the system. This allows us to highlight potential issues and refine the design before we commit to the production of the final piece.”

The team has its own fully equipped traditional machine shop, as well as an extensive composites capability. With these facilities, it can make almost anything, but if a final part can be 3-D printed, that is the process that will be used, as it can cut lead times and cost.

An example of the application of 3-D printing was making the end cap for the boat’s bowsprit. This has a complex shape that is designed to reduce aerodynamic drag. It was ideal for 3-D printing in plastic because there was no load
involved, and just a single item was required. Historically, a part like this would have been made of carbon fibre to the finish and standard of a piece of custom furniture — at great expense. Now, once the design has been developed, it can be produced economically in a few hours.

Metal additive manufacturing

Mr Sykes says: “The top level of our 3-D printing programme is the metal additive manufacturing supplied by Renishaw. The manufacture of custom parts in metal is the cutting edge of this technology.”

The components are manufactured from thin layers (typically 0.05mm) of fine metallic powder that has the consistency of cornflour. The system works in an argon inert atmosphere, as this allows heat to be applied to melt the metal powder without it burning, or reacting with oxygen or the impurities found in air. The heat is applied using a laser beam that is directed by software-controlled mirrors and focused to accurately ‘weld’ the areas required to create
the part.

One of the earliest components that the Land Rover BAR team created using this technology was a bespoke pulley sheave case. High compressive loads are involved in the operation of this part, which also needs to offer good resistance to wear; but because all high-strength metals have a higher density (weight per volume) than carbon fibre, the part was made hollow to keep weight down. Moreover, it would have been very difficult to make this part any other way than additive manufacturing.

Elaborating on the benefits of additive manufacturing, Mr Claughton said: “The potential of the process in terms of saving weight and improving efficiency is tremendous. For example, we took a long hard look at our hydraulic systems. Before 3-D printing, all system parts were manufactured by taking metal away from a solid block. The shapes that you can create this way are limited, which means that the design is limited and hydraulic efficiency is impaired.

“Hydraulic fluid doesn’t take kindly to being pushed around sharp corners, and there is a loss of power when that happens. With traditional milling and drilling techniques, it was not possible to optimise fluid flow or
remove all the material that wasn’t needed; tool access often precluded this.

“However, with additive manufacturing, we can build smooth rounded corners that significantly improve efficiency; and we can make parts much lighter than we could with subtractive methods, as we only add material where it is needed.”

Weight down, efficiency up

Renishaw (www.renishaw.com/additive) has manufactured several parts for the hydraulic systems; and while the team is reluctant to reveal too much design detail, it has said that the weight of a new manifold designed to be additively manufactured was reduced by 60% — and its hydraulic efficiency was increased by more than 20%.

David Ewing, product marketing engineer at Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Products division, said: “Our
involvement with Land Rover BAR is also helping to raise the bar in additive manufacturing. It’s a complex manufacturing option and there are considerations both in component design and process expertise. The best applications are ones which use the minimum amount of material to achieve the design requirements, offer a functional benefit in service and have been designed with the manufacturing method in mind. Our work on hydraulic parts for the team is a perfect example.”

In conclusion, Mr Claughton said: “Renishaw is at the top of this particular game, and the company has really helped us out with its facilities. This is one technology that is here to stay, and its role within our build processes will only increase in the future.” Further information on Land Rover BAR Technical Innovation Group can be found at
the Web site (land-rover-bar.americascup.com/en/technical-innovation-group.html).

The background to BAR

Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) was launched on 10 June 2014 in the presence of The Duchess of Cambridge. The team was
conceived by Sir Ben Ainslie — four-times Olympic gold medalist and 34th America’s Cup winner — with the aim of bringing the America’s Cup back home to Britain, where it all began in 1851 off the Isle of Wight. He has built a team and will lead a British entry capable of winning the prestigious trophy, something Britain has so far never managed to achieve.

Land Rover BAR is a commercial team, with a number of individual private investors alongside corporate partners; it
is made up of some of the best British and international sailors, designers, ‘boat’ builders and racing support staff. The team has built a new 74,000ft2 headquarters in the centre of Portsmouth, which houses its Tech Deck education centre.

Ben Ainslie’s venture with Land Rover BAR followed what has been described as the greatest comeback in sailing history, when (in 2013) Oracle Team USA fought back from the brink to beat Team New Zealand by 44sec in a ‘winner takes all’ finale. The Americans had lost eight of their first 11 races on home waters and, in Ben Ainslie’s words, had “a mountain to climb”.

The team took a gamble, and in a last throw of the dice, Oracle drafted in Ben Ainslie to replace team tactician John Kostecki; and although his impact was not immediate (Oracle lost their first two races with him at the helm), he soon helped to reduce the deficit, and 10 wins later, it was victory to him and the Americans. He was the first Briton in 110 years to be on board a winning America’s Cup boat, and it was this that spurred him on to forming a British team that could win the competition.