Sailing: Ruggero Tita wins the World Championship with Trentino technology
September 2022

Ruggero Tita and Trentino technology remain ahead of the curve. After the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020, this year also came the domination victory at the European Championship in Aahrus (Denmark) and the world title at the World Championship in Nova Scotia (Canada). The sailor from Trentino, teamed with his racing partner Caterina Banti, thus confirmed himself as the champion to beat in the Nacra 17 category, with a boat that has never been so fast and technological, thanks also to the components developed and 3D printed by ProM Facility. 

A winning partnership

Team that wins doesn't change. Ruggero Tita knew this well when, in 2021, with the Olympic medal still around his neck, he returned to Rovereto to renew his collaboration with the prototyping lab of Polo Meccatronica, the high-tech incubator of Trentino Sviluppo. The goal: to make the boat even more technological and competitive ahead of the 2022 World and European Championships.

Titanium and 3D printing: discover how the partnership with ProM Facility began

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The titanium choke with reinforced resin pulleys

The first component Tita set to work on with ProM Facility engineers after the Olympics was the choke. This is a self-locking tool that, attached to a steel cable and nylon rope, secures the helmsman to the boat and prevents him from falling into the water. 

  • DEMAND: redesign the component that is normally found in the market, with the goal of making it smaller;

  • SOLUTION: the part was redesigned entirely and molded in titanium (the original is steel). The pulleys it contains internally to allow the rope to slide were 3D printed with a resin reinforced with ceramic microspheres;

  • RESULTS: the volume of the part was reduced by 63%. Before being 3D printed, the choke model was subjected to various FEA (Finite Element Analysis) analyses to verify the stresses to which it would be subjected and the deformations it might undergo. Finally, the finished part was tested on the mechanical test stand until the ropes broke with about 600Kg, proving that it is capable of holding more weight than the ropes to which it is attached can hold.

The calibration tool

Before putting the Nacra 17, which is fitted with foils, into the water, it is necessary to check that these special "fins" that make the boat fly over the water are perfectly aligned with the hull. 

  • DEMAND: to develop a device that would allow the angle of inclination of the foils to be checked;

  • SOLUTION: a device was designed and printed in PA12 that slips into the foil and checks its alignment with the hull using a laser level. Precision, in a tool like this, is critical, and even the millimeter makes a difference. ProM Facility technicians then also used x-ray tomography, which allowed them to verify the flatness of the part, comparing it with the model created on the PC;

  • RESULTS: the device allows easy, fast and accurate checking.

Crankcases of the hoists

Crankcases and hoists had already been developed by ProM Facility, but a change in official discipline parameters forced the engineers to redesign.

  • DEMAND: redesign the crankcases so that their main function was not aerodynamics;

  • SOLUTION: the parts were redesigned using a more classic shape and molded in PA12, a plastic material that is characterized by high stress resistance;

  • RESULTS: fluid dynamic analysis showed that the new configuration can maintain good dynamicity.

Trentino: a territory naturally devoted to sport-tech

Trentino is a natural arena for outdoor sports, which find in the mountains, valleys and lakes the ideal place to develop. This growth is also supported by startups and innovative companies born and developed thanks to the support of the Autonomous Province of Trento, which sees sport-tech as a strategic asset for the development of the territory. Ruggero Tita's story, in this context, is exemplary. The one with ProM Facility, in fact, is not the only technological collaboration he has woven with the area. For example, the champion also relied on the expertise of two young engineering brothers and their Garda Carbon Lab for the Moth category.