Me at the 2002 Olympic ski jump in Salt Lake City

Have you been sucked into the winter Olympics like me the last 2 weeks?  I’m a sucker for curling.  Have you wondered if there are any 3D printed equipment in use?  There are tons of examples of 3D modeling used in things like bobsled, but actual printing applications appear to be few and far between.  3D printing appears to be more prevalent in the summer games so far from Nike’s 3D printed shoes developed with track star Michael Johnson (with an NFL version which we wrote about previously) to the Japanese fencing team using 3D printed equipment to win silver in London in 2012.  The Paralympics in Sochi will have a huge 3D printing application in biathalon with Martin Fleig of Germany using a 3D printed ski assembly.  You can follow Martin’s results on the official Sochi Paralympic page in early March.

No doubt 3D printing will be more major at the winter games in Korea in 2018, especially with news like Stratasys 3D printing an entire pair of skis.  In the meantime, if you really want to keep the Olympic spirit we suggest you 3D print your own Olympic rings!