News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Following the success of the first 3D printed sneaker produced using the TripleCell platform—the 990 Sport—partners New Balance and Formlabs have debuted a second sneaker model, the FuelCell Echo Triple. The new running was produced using the innovative footwear 3D printing platform, which combines Formlabs’ stereolithography (SLA) technology with the custom Rebound Resin.
Underwater aquatic research seems to be taking up a new motto: do as the fish do! There is an undeniable trend in the field to explore the development of new research tools that not only blend into the aquatic environment more easily but also mimic deep sea residents. For example, MIT created a robotic fish called SoFi, and even more recently a student at TU Delft utilized 3D printing to create a robotic fish that swims through water like a tuna.
Additive manufacturing of end-use consumer products still has a long way to but every day more steps are made towards achieving that goal. For now, it remains more about highly customized and exclusive products, rather than mass-produced ones, and the first thing that pops up is that these products are becoming more and more appealing. While true appreciation of the futuristic, natural and complex forms made possible by 3D printing may still be confined to a niche of first adopters, products such as the generative 3D printed shoe collection introduced by studio Ica & Kostika are sure to draw a wider public’s awe.
This is not the first time we’ve seen 3D printing take cosplay to the next level, but it is easily one of the most impressive projects we’ve ever seen. Aaron Warbinek, a Vancouver-based teacher and Star Wars enthusiast, has painstakingly created a wearable, fully functional Darth Vader suit and helmet. The suit, which is now seeking funding on Kickstarter, will take you straight to the dark side.
Sports technology company GuardLab Inc. has teamed up with hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer Hockey to bring to market a new line of 3D printed mouthguards. The protective gear, produced using 3D scanning and printing, will become available this month under the Bauer APEX and APEX Lite Mouthguard product series.
In the dynamic world of fashion, technology’s footprint is increasing every day and very few designers in the world know how to combine the two – leveraging 3D printing – better than Anouk Wipprecht. The Dutch designer worked with Cirque du Soleil to create Elixir and Fragrance, a new set of tech-enhanced designs, which were presented during New York’s Fashion Week. The designs utilize Experience Management solutions from SAP (Qualtrics) to capture participant’s inputs and deliver custom-made beverages — cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks — and fragrances to the individual.
Since its founding in 2005, fashion label threeASFOUR has remained at the forefront of avant garde fashion. For the past few years, the collective’s boundary-pushing designs have often overlapped with cutting-edge 3D printing practices, making for some of the fashion-tech world’s most awe-inspiring garments. Once again, at this year’s New York Fashion Week, threeASFOUR has not disappointed 3D printing enthusiasts.
Just nine days in, September is gearing up to be an exciting month for cycling and 3D printing enthusiasts. With Eurobike 2019 taking place last week, bike designers and their manufacturing partners were excited to showcase the latest in 3D printed cycling equipment. We saw 3D printed bike seats by Carbon for Specialized and fizik, as well as a new 3D printed carbon fiber bike frame by AREVO for Pilot. Now, Dutch metal 3D printing company MX3D is getting in on the action with the unveiling of its first 3D printed aluminum bike, Arc Bike II.
Just a week after Carbon unveiled an innovative 3D printed bike saddle made for American bicycle manufacturer Specialized, the digital manufacturing company has announced a new partnership with Italian cycling equipment producer fizik. The partnership, revealed today at Eurobike 2019, will see Carbon leverage its Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology to produce a new bike saddle range called Adaptive.
Composite 3D printing company AREVO has just announced a partnership with bike design and production company Pilot Distribution Group BV through which it will produce 3D printed carbon fiber unibody frames for a new series of Pilot e-bikes. The announcement, which follows on AREVO’s existing bicycle-focused collaborations with Studio West and Franco Bicycles, was made at Eurobike 2019.