Reinventing Roller Coasters with Metal 3D Printing

Engineering teams tasked with creating new and innovative amusement park rides often face a difficult challenge: how can we make the ride faster, lighter, and safer while minimizing costs and improving sustainability? That’s exactly what Extreme Manufacturing Engineering (EME) set out to achieve through its groundbreaking collaboration with Bright Laser Technologies (BLT). Using additive manufacturing, they were able to design and produce a roller coaster bogie unlike anything ever seen before.

Their goals were complex, but simple:

• Reduce part weight and complexity
• Improve structural performance
• Shorten production time and simplify assembly
• Enable full traceability and certification in the AM workflow

Harnessing the Power of an End-to-End Process

EME and BLT’s partnership represents a true end-to-end additive manufacturing solution by combining advanced simulation, design, production, and validation into a seamless workflow. Leveraging EME’s decades of experience in mechanical design and BLT’s large-format metal 3D printing technology, the team developed a fully optimized roller coaster bogie (the wheel assembly that carries each train car).

Leveraging BLT’s large-format metal printers, the BLT-S800 and BLT-S450, EME produced a single-piece stainless steel bogie that replaced the traditional 13-part welded assembly.

Design, Validation, and Production

The project followed a patented end-to-end design and production methodology, which included integrating topological optimization, fatigue validation, and real-world testing. EME’s proprietary software tools ensured that the structural integrity of the bogie met the demanding fatigue and load requirements of amusement rides, while BLT’s high-precision metal 3D printers (including the BLT-S800 and BLT-S450) delivered production-grade quality and repeatability.

Each step, from digital design to 3D printing and final testing, was carefully certified according to industry standards for amusement ride safety.

The final bogie weighed only 10.9 kg, compared to the original 25 kg, and required no corrosion protection; a direct result of design freedom and material efficiency through 3D printing.

After the completion of the project, the teams discovered some impressive results:

• 65% reduction in moving mass on the roller coaster train
• 30% lighter supporting structure and rails
• Energy savings of up to 30% per year due to lighter weights
• Reduced maintenance costs through predictive part replacement and lower wear
• Seamless integration from concept to certified production

This innovation doesn’t just streamline production; it transforms the economics of roller coaster design. With metal additive manufacturing, component manufacturing times are shorter, designs are safer, and even large-scale production becomes more viable and sustainable.

Redefining the Future of Amusement Park Ride Engineering

This collaboration marks a pivotal step in bringing additive manufacturing to large-scale, real-world production. By combining EME’s engineering expertise with BLT’s cutting-edge metal 3D printing technology, the project demonstrates how additive manufacturing can reshape an entire industry: delivering lighter, stronger, and safer rides that thrill passengers while optimizing cost and efficiency for manufacturers and parks alike.

Together, EME and BLT are proving that additive manufacturing isn’t just for prototyping. It’s the engine driving the next generation of industrial production, from roller coasters to aerospace systems.

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