MARQUETTE -- A deadly crash in the 2010 Olympics made the dangers of luge a reality for the world. To protect athletes, luge officials follow a set of regulations to keep the sport safe.

On a quick glance, the lightweight metal gauges may not seem like much. 　

"(Working with them) sort of opened my eyes to how much there really is, scientifically into (luge)," says student Ben Sondgergrath.

But the small gauges can be critical in the sport of luge.

"The measurements are here for safety, to have over number that gives you more speed, but also could be more dangerous too," says international Luge race official Dennis Guertin.

Guertin said he's disqualified athletes whose sleds were only a millimeter and a half off of regulations.

When almost all of the official gauges went missing during the last luge competition in Utah, Guertin knew they had a problem. He turned to Northern Michigan University for help.

Computer Numerical Control students are able to make new updated gauges for the budget strapped Olympic luge program and get hands-on experience at the same time.

"It goes somewhere, it's not just being thrown in the scrap bin," says class instructor Cale Polkinghorne. "The U.S. Luge Association, they don't have a lot of money to be throwing at gauges. So it's nice to be able to provide a product and have the students do it."

It works like this - students use a design program to formulate the gauge, then program a machine to cut the metal. They'll be making 60 gauges, and each measurement must precise.

So far, they've been excelling. Guertin says that the gauges made by the NMU students are actually more accurate than the current ones made 30 years ago

Students say this experience will pay off for them as well, they'll be able to put the time they're working closely with a client on their resume.

This is the first year for the Computer Numerical Control design program, and the department plans to incorporate more community projects into each semester.