Ninad Trifale is an innovation manager at Wilson Sporting Goods Co. working across multiple sporting goods categories. His team leverages simulation and optimization technologies to drive next-generation product design in the world of sports. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
Talk title: Engineering design optimization for sporting equipment
Sporting equipment ranging from golf, baseball, tennis, padel and even basketball has a highly competitive market space. Like most consumer products, sporting equipment has evolved over the years and incremental gains in performance are relatively difficult to achieve but are a huge differentiator in the industry. The introduction of simulation and optimization techniques in this industry provides a unique opportunity to drive performance gains across different sporting applications. A brief overview is provided on quantifying performance metrics such as coefficient of restitution, sound, and feel through simulation techniques. We further discuss methodologies for optimizing designs based on these performance attributes for various sport equipment such as golf clubs, baseball bats and padel paddles.