INEOS Britannia
Renishaw has worked with INEOS Britannia to develop several additively manufactured parts for its AC75 race boat ahead of the 37th America's Cup.
INEOS Britannia has revealed the Britannia AC75 race boat to the public this week, after two and a half years of development work.
As part of the development of Britannia, Renishaw offered its expertise in position measurement, manufacturing process control, metal additive manufacturing (AM) and Raman spectroscopy.
The company's additive manufacturing team has developed and delivered an outhaul sheave box, flap fairings, the bowspirit end detail and a runner beam end-fitting, each of which has been produced with the RenAM 500Q quad-laser metal 3D printing system. Renishaw has designed the components to reduce the weight of the boat, helping to improve speed, efficiency and other performance factors. The company is also supplying position encoders to provide digital position feedback.
“Renishaw’s long-standing collaboration with INEOS Britannia makes our team incredibly proud,” said Chay Allen, Customer Applications Manager for Renishaw. “This year is particularly exciting as it has given us the opportunity to contribute to the manufacturing of the boat in the UK and provide support from our subsidiary in Spain. From our AM Solutions Centre in Barcelona, we can provide a rapid response should the team need additional support with additively manufactured components once racing has started.”
“We have been keeping Britannia under wraps for such a long time that it’s almost surreal to see her out of the shed and in public view here in Barcelona,” explained Sir Ben Ainslie, INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper. “Thousands of hours of work have gone into this boat and so it’s great to finally reveal her to the world. We’re incredibly grateful to Renishaw for their support and the invaluable technology they provide.”
INEOS Britannia will race at the Preliminary Regatta from August 22nd to August 25th in Barcelona, Spain. The five challenging teams will then compete in The Louis Vuitton Cup — the Challenger Selections Series between August 29th and October 7th — to win the right to take on the defenders, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup match in October.
