Through a small mistake that cost him fractions of a second, Kristan Bromley, nicknamed 'Dr. Ice' because he owns the company 'Bromley Ice & Snow Sport Technologies' and has a PhD, came fifth in the bob skeleton at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Happy to be in the top 10? No, not at all; Kristan, the British and European number one, wants to be up there in the medals, preferably taking the Gold! Perhaps black carbon will lead him to that elusive medal! Who knows?

The answer: Bromley, who has a PhD in engineering and a degree in design, materials and manufacturing, contacted B3 Technologies Ltd because he wanted to investigate the use of carbon fibre for the structure of the pan on which the rider lies. He also wanted to explore the potential for reducing drag using the sophisticated Computational Fluid Dynamics facilities at Sheffield-Hallam University in the UK.

One vital element in the equation that Bromley conveyed to B3 Technologies was regarding the structural characteristics of the sled. Current rules of the sport outlawed any damping or suspension systems, leaving the steel chassis of the sled as the only part that could absorb shocks. The composite pan needed careful design to ensure that key chassis properties were unaffected.

The hands-on approach by B3 Technologies started with the manufacture of a mould using an epoxy-based tooling block, with ACG's MTM®28 carbon fibre prepreg applied and autoclave cured. Several lay-ups, featuring different fabric configurations, led to the formulation of the requisite end product.

The exact specification of the tray is kept 'top secret' to maintain the advantage in future competitions for the Bromley Pro Ice Team, the company's 'Formula One' style works team initiative. Revealing only non-critical elements of the design, the sled pan incorporated subtle design features that allowed the sled frame some extra compliance to improve clearance tolerances and reduce pan fatigue.

Accepted by the governing body (FIBT) as being within current Olympic regulations, but likely to receive further scrutiny in the future, the build went to plan, several designs were tested, with both parties planning further development work in the future.

ACG materials remain a vital part of many market sectors and continue to open up new possibilities for those in pursuit of excellence. Flexibility is at the heart of ACG's continuous materials development programme and putting the customer first is all part of the Group's philosophy.