We are used to customising our racquets in many ways, but how about creating your own frame completely? This is basically what Miha Flisek did with his recent project called T0 Stardust, where he designed, built and also play-tested what we believe is the first fully 3D-printed (and playable) tennis racquet.
It all started with the thoughts on if it’s even possible to create a playable tennis racquet using 3D printing technology? Following smaller tests of printing parts like pallets, handles and buttcaps, Miha went on to try for a whole racquet, seeing as no one has ever done this before. At least this is our understanding as well, let us know below if you know of other similar projects!
After a few attempts, and a lot of learning, a racquet that was created that was light and strong enough for a game of tennis.
Looking at the design and some of the more distinctive features we can see the X-Throat Design, rounded string transitions and a twin-tube frame design. We recommend checking his blog post for all the details of specifications and materials used. They have already outlined future improvements to be made for the upcoming printing attempts.
The racquets have been playtested, using Babolat RPM Power strings, and it went better than expected. There are certainly things to be improved but the overall test for power and stability seem to have worked well considering this was just the first version to be tested on court.
Check out the complete play testing on his Youtube video for the T0 Stardust project.
Why 3D print a racquet?
We will have to wait and see if this will be a bigger trend in the future. The 3D printing industry are still facing some challenges, not only with materials, but also with slow production times. If more possibilities and options to create your own racquet with 3D printing become available, these are some of the advantages.
- Even further customisation – Every racquet can be unique and can have specific characteristics.
- On-demand, and more sustainable, production.
- Complete design freedom, and possibilities for new features.
We look forward to seeing more progress of 3D printing racquets in the future, let us know below if you have any experience in this area.
