Australian Institute Of Sport (Jonathon Milne)

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) designs and fabricates high-performance equipment for elite athletes in world-class competitions. Markforged 3D printers give AIS the tools it needs to manufacture custom-made, one-off components with the properties that elite athletes require. The Institute was looking for a 3D printer for in-house production to create parts with high strength, durability, and minimal weight. Access to 3D printing in-house increases design freedom and iteration cycles and also protects AIS’s intellectual property.

Jonathon Milne, a 6’9 Paralympic archer, came to AIS for custom-printed release aids to help him represent Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. The part was reverse engineered from a commercial product and was scaled and refined for the perfect fit. The release aid was first printed in Onyx to validate the geometric changes before printing the final part in metal. Jonathon's final release aid was printed in 17-4 PH Stainless Steel, with the optimized weight, stiffness, and shape to help Jonathon bring home a bronze medal.