3D Printing Surfboard Fin Design
The requirements: Designing and 3D printing a fin that can be installed on a surfboard to generate lift
Dr. Daniel Simonet from the American University of Sharjah approached Bright Mind to work on his invention designing and 3D printing a smooth fin that give surfboards lift while surfing which minimizes the friction between the board and the sea water. This provides the surfers with a smoother surfing experience, and enables them to reach higher velocities.
Bright Mind designed, and prototyped the invention according to Dr. Simonet's criteria. The main software used for the 3D design was AutoCad Inventor, and the main prototyping method was FDM 3D printing. The material used was ABS plastic as ABS is know for its strength, and compatibility with simple 3D printing geometries. The need for the product to float over water meant the density of the product is critical and must not exceed the water's density. luckily, with FDM 3D printing we can control the 3D printed part's infill (density). This property of FDM 3D printing helped us control the density of the product to meet our criteria.
Here are some photos of the finished product:
The project was a success and was tested in sea water by in Dubai - UAE. The prototype was used to verify the function of the invention. The next step from here is to mass produce the product using fiberglass, carbon fiber, or plastic injection moulding.
Dr. Simonet was kind enough to give us a review on this project:
" I approached Bright Mind to develop a new type of fin for sailboard. They were very responsive to my request, paid attention to every detail, and came up with new ideas to make my prototype even better. At BrightMind, I was able to find the expertise and the experience I needed to make and test a prototype quickly."