Like artificial intelligence, 3D printing is also considered a technology that will revolutionize manufacturing. Recently, Reebok disclosed its breakthrough innovative footwear manufacturing process, the Liquid Factory. The heart of this process is 3D printing. Reebok believes that this will fundamentally change the process and speed of footwear innovation.
Reebok's new 3D process
This new process was developed by the Reebok Future team. This technology makes use of the liquid material developed by BASF, which is specially developed for Reebok, and uses 3D Drawing technology to “draw†shoe parts cleanly and accurately at the 3D level. The company claims that this proprietary layering technique can be used to create completely unique shoes without using traditional molds. Use this technology to create high-performance sports shoes more efficiently and quickly.
Bill McInnis is the head of the Future team and he was an NASA engineer before. He said: "Using this new process, we can program the robot to create the entire outsole of the shoe - without the need for a mold, creating unprecedented energy feedback by drawing high-energy liquid materials layer by layer (energy- The outer sole of the shoe, whose performance even surpasses that of a typical rubber outsole, in addition to this new Liquid Factory process is also used to create a unique matching system that can be modeled around the feet. Provide three-dimensional adaptation."
What kind of changes will this technology bring?
Bill McInnis said: In the past 30 years, footwear manufacturing technology has essentially no major changes. Each shoe of each brand is made through a mold - this is an expensive and time consuming process. Through the Liquid Factory, we want to fundamentally change the way the shoes are made and create a new method that does not require a mold. This opens up entirely new possibilities for what we can create and at what pace.
The first concept shoe of this process is Liquid Speed, which is a running shoe that focuses on energy feedback and integrates the outsole and lace to enhance the feeling of the entire foot in a holistic manner, and the feedback is very sensitive. However, this shoe is limited to 300 pairs of production, priced at 189.50 US dollars.
Sports shoes brands favor 3D printing
The new technology of Reebok is full of expectations, but Reebok is not the only one.
At present, all major sports shoe brands in the world have tested 3D printed sports shoes. Among them, Nike, Adi, and New Balance launched 3D printing concept shoes in the previous year and last year. Let's take a look at several mainstream brands on the market.
Adidas
On October 7, 2015, Adidas, the world's leading manufacturer of sports shoes and sporting goods, released its 3D printed running shoe series “Futurecraft 3D†concept map and video. According to Adidas official website, the future users only need to run a few steps on the treadmill in the adidas shop, adidas can quickly get the runner's foot features and data, and then use 3D printing technology to create this running shoes.
Herbert Hainer, the company's CEO, said in an interview with the Japan Economic News in July that "we are using a 3D printer to produce some of our soles, but the cost is still very high at present," but still says that robots automation plants The "next stage will be a 3D printer."
Adi also gave its contracted athletes who won medals at the Rio Olympic Games with the latest 3D printed Futurecraft sports shoes. This pair of sneakers is designed with a special 3D mesh structure, a 3D printed heel, and a 3D printed highly breathable Primeknit upper in its high-stress area. The application of these new technologies means that Adidas sneakers do not have to be glued or stitched. Adi named it "3D Printed Winners Shoe."
Nike
As early as 2013, Nike developed the first 3D printed sneakers - football shoes named "Vapor Laser Talon". In January 2014, Nike launched the new Vapor Carbon 2014 elite version as part of the NFL Silver Speed ​​series for the 48th Super Bowl. In February of the same year, Nike launched the third Vapor HyperAgility sneakers developed with 3D printing technology.
On May 17, 2016, HP, the traditional printing giant, finally launched its HP Jet Fusio 3D printer product and announced that it is 10 times faster than its competitors and can reduce printing costs by 50%. Subsequently, Nike announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Hewlett-Packard, and will use the latter's Jet Fusion 3D printer to manufacture footwear prototypes faster.
New Balance
On November 19, 2015, New Balance announced that it will launch a 3D printed midsole running shoe and announced that this shoe will be sold as a limited edition during the Boston Marathon in April of this year.
In order to enhance the technical optimization design of 3D printed running shoes midsole, New Balance and Intel Corporation have used the latter's RealSense 3D scanning and imaging technology to collect accurate measurement data for each customer's foot, and may produce the most on the market. Accurate customizable 3D printing midsole.
On April 11, 2016, New Balance announced that it will publicly sell the Zante Generate, a limited edition running shoe with a 3D printed midsole. This is New Balance's first publicly sold 3D printed sneakers, and New Balance's first 3D printed running shoe for regular runners.
Prior to this, New Balance was already using 3D printing technology to develop shoes for elite athletes. As early as 2013, the company printed a highly customized spike for its 3D based on the personal characteristics of athlete Jack Bolas.
An Dema
On March 7, 2016, Under Armour demonstrated its first limited-edition 3D printed high-performance training shoe, UA Architech.
This pair of trainers features a 3D printed midsole and a sculpted 3D ClutchFit upper, printed by the company's innovative lab in Baltimore using Autodesk software, which uses a unique generative design. To create a crystal midsole for this shoe, this structure, combined with high performance polymer and elastomeric materials, will provide the user with a stable heel support structure and will be able to meet the cushioning capabilities required for high-intensity training.
In early August, Anderma announced that he would customize a pair of sneakers for Michael Phelps. This pair of shoes also uses Anderma's 3D printing midsole technology.
Why 3D Printing is Popular with Sports Shoes Brands
First, reduce costs. Although the cost is still a big obstacle to the mass production of 3D printed sports shoes. However, after the technology becomes more mature in the future, 3D printing will completely reduce costs from design, mold, and production processes.
For example, a stud plate traditionally requires several injection molds of different sizes, all costing up to several thousand dollars. These molds are usually scrapped or replaced every year, and thousands of stud plates can be manufactured before that time. A mold usually represents a product model. With the EOS solution, laser sintering can take 3 to 4 different pairs of different nail plates, which takes 5 to 6 hours.
Adi had previously stated in 2013 that it used to require 12 technicians to make prototypes by hand and use 3D printing to complete it with no more than two people. 3D printers have drastically reduced the time to evaluate a new prototype, which previously took four to six weeks and now only takes one to two days.
Second, the possibility of designing and creating will also greatly increase.
The sneaker brand is an area advocating fashion, individuality, and innovation, and 3D printing greatly unleashes the imagination and creative possibilities of design. The e-commerce platform 3Dshoes.com once said: "Once 3D printing becomes more popular, anyone can own their own brand, and some people are more likely to succeed with their own 3D printed shoe brands."
The founder of 3Dshoes.com quoted a quote from the American rap star Kanye West: This is what I fear: 3D printing. Just as the Internet has destroyed the music industry, I fear that 3D printing will ruin today's textile industry... Perhaps one day, everyone can print shoes at home.
This worry is not impossible. When everyone can print their own shoes, the traditional sports shoes enterprises will lose the value of existence, shoe companies will have to reposition themselves.
The company's CEO, Hilbert Heiner, thinks this is an opportunity. "In the future, Adidas will sell its footwear production rights and software to individuals."
Reproduced from: China Clothing Talent Network
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