Professional paper
Methodology for the Development of Hydrofoil Prototypes for High-Performance Windfoiling Using Additive Manufacturing
Tin Matulja
; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Engineering, Rijeka, Croatia
*
Marko Hadjina
; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Engineering, Rijeka, Croatia
Amza Malake
; University of Toulon, SeaTech School of Engineering, La Garde Campus, Cedex, France
Domagoj Vrtovšnik
; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Engineering, Rijeka, Croatia
Marko Ružić
; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Engineering, Rijeka, Croatia
Mistral Matulja
; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Engineering, Rijeka, Croatia
Robin Matulja
; Flymar d.o.o., Opatija, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper presents a methodology for prototyping hydrofoils for high‑performance wind foiling using
additive manufacturing. Previous research, based on reverse engineering and 3D model preparation for
prototype production with aluminum molds, revealed notable economic shortcomings. A key challenge
in producing and testing multiple prototypes lies in achieving the required mechanical properties
while ensuring rapid mold and prototype fabrication. The production and preparation of aluminum
molds often create a bottleneck in the process due to time and financial constraints, especially when
several similar hydrofoil prototypes must be manufactured and tested in short intervals. This study
demonstrates that additive manufacturing of molds provides high precision and sufficient mechanical
performance required for vacuum carbon fiber lamination. Additionally, with post curing at appropriate
temperatures, the molds maintain adequate strength for the production workflow. The prototypes
were tested at a suitable testing site, and the results confirmed the effectiveness and practicality of
the proposed methodology. This approach significantly shortens development time and lowers costs,
which is essential for dynamic design and testing procedures in the field of wind foiling.
Keywords
methodology, additive manufacturing, prototype, hydrofoil, wind foiling
Hrčak ID:
347254
URI
Publication date:
19.5.2026.
Visits: 0 *