Hockey Skates Get the Spring Treatment
At European Springs, we are always keen to inspire our readers by telling them about the new and fascinating ways that springs are used in problem-solving technology. Earlier this year, we reported on the spring aided trainers, developed in the UK, which helped to reduce impact for runners. In Canada, similar principles have led to the development of an ice hockey skate which is safer for both professional and amateur skaters.
The BladeTech hockey skate has been developed by the mechanical engineer, Jeffrey Azzolin, himself an ex-hockey player, who felt the effects of skating on his joints and decided to investigate solutions. He is confident that the BladeTech skates signal a significant advance in hockey skate design. When the skates make contact with the ice, springs under the blades absorb the energy that would normally impact the skater's ankle, knee or shin joint. The compression springs have the added bonus of providing a boost when the player pushes off the ice.
It is hoped that the skates will help to prevent joint damage and also allow for smooth transitions from a flat-footed to a forward-angled stance; thus reducing the likelihood of developing shin splits. Shin splits can become a long-term and painful problem for many athletes, with icing your shins sometimes providing the only respite from the condition, painful though this is in itself. By using springs in these skates, the engineer hopes to create a product which reduces the rate of this among ice-hockey players.
Compression springs are some of the most versatile springs around and, with this capacity to absorb energy before it reaches a place where it may become dangerous, their usefulness shows no sign of abating. European Springs can make compression springs to any specification, and can also advise you as to what other types of spring may prove valuable in your product design. Tension Springs, for example, can be used in several different ways, often in a counterbalancing capacity. Contact us for more information about our bespoke spring designs and the unique pressings that we also devise and manufacture.
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