Cantilevered saddle tree: combining a lightweight thermoplastic composite material with an innovative design

摘要

The innovative BUA saddle allows the horse and rider to move freely and effortlessly through their full range of motion at all gaits. The raw material used for the saddle tree is a commingled glass fibre/polypropylene (PP) fabric. The glass fibres and PP filaments are woven in a twill pattern that gives the material identical properties in both the longitudinal (warp) and transverse (weft) directions. Templates are used to cut plies out of the fabric and are bonded together. The preform is placed into a cavity mold and the composite material is forced to conform to the shape of the tooling surface. The material is consolidated by heating it above the melting point of polypropylene and dwelling at this temperature until the fibres have been fully wetted out. The mould is cooled to its demoulding temperature and the part is removed. The excess trim material is machined away to give the final finished shape of the saddle tree. The glass fibre-reinforced thermoplastic provides an excellent balance of durability and fatigue performance. In addition to being very lightweight (only 4kg), it is cost-effective and ultimately comfortable for both horse and rider.