Disrupting Global Footwear Market With Tech
LATEST BLOGS
3D Partnership Between NAMIC And Wiivv
Post by Charlie White on Nov 13, 2018
The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) from Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding with Wiivv. Through this partnership, they will try to develop 3D printed biometric insoles. Wiivv shows us how a new business should be, by riding on market trends. This includes mass customization and building personalized and...
Nike's Elite Running Shoe
Post by Charlie White on Nov 11, 2018
Nike has prepared their 3D printed shoe, Zoom Vaporfly Elite Flyprint 3D for a wider release. The Flyprint 3D is an updated version of Nike’s famous 3D printed Zoom Vaporfly 4%. It was designed with help from Eluid Kipchoge, the winner of the Berlin marathon in 2018. This footwear company...
Voxel8's Mass Customization
Post by Charlie White on Oct 29, 2018
Major companies such as Adidas and Nike believe the footwear industry will be among the first to adopt 3D printing technology for mass production. This is true for mass customization and until now the focus has been on 3D printing the outsole and midsole. A Startup, Voxel8, is ready to...
Jabil's Additive Manufacturing
Post by Charlie White on Oct 14, 2018
Jabil has been focusing on additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, for the past few years. Recently it has introduced its cloud-based Jabil Additive Manufacturing Network. Their additive manufacturing offering is broad, but they are currently focusing footwear. 3D printing has become a bigger part of the footwear industry, including everything...
Mikio Sakabe's Giddy Up Label
Post by Charlie White on Oct 09, 2018
Mikio Sakabe, a Japanese fashion designer, recently announced some 3D printed shoes. He shows interest in 3D printing and innovative, smart materials. The fashion-tech landscape has finally passed the ‘gimmick” stage. An initial desire to merge two scenes is no longer just an idea. Drawing inspiration from one of the...
3D Printing In The Fashion Industry
Post by Charlie White on Sep 30, 2018
New York Fashion Week this year featured seven days of innovation with concepts that have never been seen. The most elite members of the fashion community were in attendance, and we were shown the latest upcoming trends. A focus of the event is fast fashion, which is capturing fresh designs...
HP Orthotics And Flowbuilt
Post by Charlie White on Sep 25, 2018
HP recently announced that it will launch metal 3D printers and automated 3D printers to be used for polymers. The company is making investments in the technology and everyone wants to know what their plan is so they can try and get ahead of them. HP does $52 billion in...
3D Printing And Manufacturing
Post by Charlie White on Sep 17, 2018
3D printing is starting to have quite the effect on everyday human lives. The printers are creating shapes as well as shaping the future of our industry. 3D printing has been applied to aviation, education, footwear, and even healthcare! In the US alone, the value of the technology was 13.2...
Fleet Feet Foot Scanning
Post by Charlie White on Aug 26, 2018
Fleet Feet is launching new programs to both enhance and make their customer experience more personalized. They are calling them “Fit Engine“ and “User Profiles.” The programs work with Fleet Feet’s 3D foot scanning technology (fit id), which launched back in 2017. The technology can present measurements that help store...
Soak Working With Cobbler
Post by Charlie White on Aug 24, 2018
A footwear company, Soak, is teaming up with a startup that makes 3D printers with the purpose of manufacturing shoes. Cobbler Technologies will start printing the soles of Soak’s designs this year. The company will still make some soles the traditional way, but this method will allow modifications to be...
Mycelium High Heels
Post by Charlie White on Aug 20, 2018
Design studio Ica and Kostika has recently created 3D printed high heels, and they are very interesting to look at. The Mycelium shoe features a texture that resembles a mushroom. While the shape looks like a shark fin coming away from the wearer’s leg. The shoes are not something you...
3D Printed Ballet Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Aug 13, 2018
Ballet dancers may sometimes give the illusion that what they do is effortless, but that is very wrong. Having bruised and bloody feet is very normal for the athletes. Thanks to Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design graduate, Hadar Neeman, there might be a solution in the future for the...
Piezoelectric Sensors And 3D Printing
Post by Charlie White on Aug 06, 2018
Sensors track many parts of our lives, especially when it comes to physical activity. Sensors even watch the environment and road conditions. This information helps drones fly and even cars and trains to run independently. Currently, the sensors are separate devices from the sensed components, which causes design limitations. Imagine,...
Determination For The Perfect Shoe
Post by Charlie White on Jul 18, 2018
In an industrial park near Charlottesville’s mall, there are 3D printers producing shoes thanks to Dr. Casey Kerrigan. She built a laboratory at the University of Virginia to help her study the way that people move. By using cameras in a room she was able to pick up where the...
Plae's Sneakers For Adults
Post by Charlie White on Jul 11, 2018
The company Plae has recently moved towards adult footwear after starting out as a brand for children back in 2013. By not focusing too much on the division of gender, they recently revealed four new shoes that are available in adult sizes. The shoes were named after the streets that...
"Sandy" Running Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Jun 25, 2018
A young designer Aeris Neterwala has done some designs for Adidas sneakers, which is heavier than almost any other footwear. Aeris is a graduate of the College of art and design in Pasadena. When a shoe is printed on a 3D printer it consists of several tens of layers of...
ECCO's Quant-U Project
Post by Charlie White on Jun 20, 2018
ECCO the leader in innovative comfort footwear and leather goods has taken up customized footwear. The project, Quant-U, revolves around developing customized 3D printed midsoles. The project is currently in the pilot phase and the service is only available at ECCO’s concept store in Amsterdam. ECCO was founded by Karl...
Brooks' Mazama 2 Trail Shoe
Post by Charlie White on Jun 17, 2018
The company Brooks recently released their Mazama 2 running shoe. It is their lightest trail shoe and is made for those runners who want to take their workout off road. The shoe features a lightweight mesh upper with minimal targeted cushioning which helps keep the weight of the shoe down....
3D Printed Footwear Strides
Post by Charlie White on May 21, 2018
Sportswear brands have been looking into the possibility of 3D printing high-performance footwear. Adidas set up a partnership with California-based 3D printing company Carbon to create the Futurecraft 4D footwear. The sportswear brand says it used years of running data to design the new midsole. This was made possible with...
3D Printing Snowshoe Repair
Post by Charlie White on May 16, 2018
There has been an increase in the use of 3D printing in military operations. With 3D printing, you can rapidly print spare parts and emergency supplies that are needed, especially for U.S. Marines. A recent mountain-base training was the perfect situation to use the technology by 3D printing custom parts...
UnisBrands Giveaway!
Post by Charlie White on May 12, 2018
After reading all these posts about 3D printed shoes, some of us wish that we could own a pair someday. Well, some of you might be in luck! You could be one of the five people to win a pair of fully customized 3D printed footwear. UnisBrands is beta testing...
3D Printed Shoes Bring Marathon Win
Post by Charlie White on May 07, 2018
To follow up on a previous post about Nike’s 3D printed running shoes. Eliud Kipchoge won the 2018 London Marathon wearing the Nike VaporFly Elite Flyprint trainers, which has the world’s first 3D printed upper. With only using a 3D printer and a thermoplastic polyurethane filament Nike is able to...
Peak's 3D Volleyball Shoe
Post by Charlie White on Apr 25, 2018
Volleyball can really be a demanding sport. You need precision and power to be able to hit the ball over the net. However, the legs and the feet do a lot too because players need to jump frequently to help with momentum. In order to do this, athletes need shoes...
Nike's 3D Printed Shoe Uppers
Post by Charlie White on Apr 22, 2018
Eliud Kipchoge will be wearing a pair of Nike trainers, which feature a 3D printed upper when he competed in the London Marathon. The company revealed the shoes, which they claim are the first running shoes to feature 3D printed uppers. The uppers are made from a material called Flyprint,...
Flip-Flops In The Boston Marathon
Post by Charlie White on Apr 16, 2018
More than 500,000 spectators gather to the streets of Boston on the 3rd Monday of April to watch a classic long distance running event. This is when the Boston Marathon takes place, and more than 35,000 runners go 26.2 miles across Beantown. This year, however, a runner will be wearing...
Nike's Flyknit 360 Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Apr 05, 2018
The seams of sneakers can be hard on people’s feet especially if they are athletes. When you overlap material, it creates ridges that rub on your skin and the edges of your feet cram into the corners where the upper meets the sole. This can cause discomfort when an athlete...
Reebok's Liquid Floatride Run
Post by Charlie White on Apr 01, 2018
About two years ago Reebok introduced the Liquid Factory, a manufacturing process that uses robotics to create shoes in three dimensions. Liquid Factory uses a proprietary liquid material to draw shoes in 3D layers, which makes the shoe very unique. Now Reebok is introducing the Liquid Floatride Run, which combines...
Nanodiamond 3D Filaments
Post by Charlie White on Mar 25, 2018
Nanomaterials are measured in nanometers, one of which is 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a single human hair. Nano-sized particles can be found in nature but can also be made from carbon, graphene, minerals, and diamonds. Materials that are created on such a small scale have many applications...
Shoe Designer And Students' Innovative Ideas
Post by Charlie White on Mar 21, 2018
Evelyn Schickling is the owner, founder, and shoe designer for Evelyn Ford Luxury in Phoenix, Arizona. Technology is very important to making shoes comfortable, especially when it comes to her line of fashionable luxurious shoes. She learned that when it came to heels she has to choose between them being...
Adidas' Runner 4D Shoe
Post by Charlie White on Mar 15, 2018
When Adidas unveiled its Futurecraft technology they planned to use 3D printed soles that are meet to feel individual needs. Adidas wants athletes to be able to run on a treadmill for a few minutes to get a scan of their foot. This way they can leave a store a...
Betabrand's 3D Printed Heels
Post by Charlie White on Mar 11, 2018
A fashion retailer, Betabrand, that both crowdfunds and crowdsources ideas launched the “On-Your-Mark Heel Project.” Betabrand collaborated with manufacturer and designer Li & Fung to launch their project. They are banking on the project to create and sell new products even faster than any fashion competitors with the help of...
3D Printing In Multicolor
Post by Charlie White on Mar 09, 2018
As 3D printing becomes more advanced, the things that can be done with it are becoming more sophisticated. There is a lot of multicolor and full color rather than things being printed one color and then painted. It can be time-consuming and difficult, especially if you’re trying to add a...
3D Printing And The Footwear Industry
Post by Charlie White on Mar 05, 2018
The footwear industry has continued to grow over the years. By 2020, we could see the footwear market reach $371 billion, thanks to new design trends and the middle-class population. There is a demand for trendy and comfortable shoes for all age groups and genders. Some manufacturers have been able...
Covestro Helps Shoe Innovator
Post by Charlie White on Feb 28, 2018
ATOM lab, which is the research unit of a company that makes cobbling machines, will present an automated shoe production process at the Simac Tanning Tech trade fair in Milan by the time this article is written. At ATOM’s booth, visitors will be able to select 3D printed soles and...
3D Printed Clothing And Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Feb 25, 2018
3D printing has really changed how we manufacture a lot of products such as limbs, 3D printed shoes, and aircraft parts. Fashion designers have unveiled shoes and clothing made from 3D printing, which I have mentioned before is plastic material being deposited layer upon layer to create. Recently Dutch designer...
UnisBrands 3D Printed Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Feb 21, 2018
A student at Penn State, Nicholas Unis has turned his passion for footwear into a business idea. Not only being a finance and accounting student, he is also the founder if UnisBrands; a fashion label that designs, produces, and sells 3D printed shoes. Even though he is a young man,...
The AlphaEDGE 4D Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Feb 19, 2018
Recently the collaboration between Carbon and Adidas has taken a huge step in the footwear industry. They have released the AlphaEDGE 4D LTD running shoes, which features 3D printed midsoles, which was created with Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis. You can get yourself a pair of the AlphaEDGE shoes for $300,...
Forté Design Tool
Post by Charlie White on Feb 15, 2018
A researcher from Carnegie Mellon University has created an interactive sketch tool called “Forté.” Anthony Chen’s Forté tool lets users create generative designs for 3D printing. It has been used to make 3D printed furniture, shoes, robot legs, and other items. A few years ago Encore was released which is...
HP's New 3D Printers
Post by Charlie White on Feb 11, 2018
Recently HP has launched four new 3D printers capable of printing in full color with multiple materials at the same time. The Jet Fusion 300 and 500 3D printers, both of which are available in black and white are HP’s next step in democratizing 3D printing. Designed with the intention...
Shapecrunch Orthotic Insoles
Post by Charlie White on Feb 08, 2018
3D printing is affecting areas such as aerospace, because of the creation of rocket components, igniters, and more. The technology is allowing innovative automotive parts to be made for car companies. What I am here to talk to you about, however, is what 3D printing can do for footwear. We...
NFL Players And 3D Printed Cleats
Post by Charlie White on Feb 04, 2018
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and I have the perfect article to write about today. 3D scanning is capable of bringing customized sports shoes to NFL players. The technology company HP has announced that the NFL is looking into their FitStation platform to provide personalized cleat shoes. This includes all 32...
Nike's Epic React Flyknit
Post by Charlie White on Jan 31, 2018
Thanks to modern technology and innovation, we’re able to provide benefits from our footwear. With 3D printed shoes and light-chiseled shoes, the sneaker is becoming the most improved object of the 21st century. One of the recent sneakers created by Nike, the Epic React Flyknit, is a running shoe with...
Brooks Enters Custom-Fit Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Jan 28, 2018
The company Brooks Running planning to rollout personalized running footwear in June. They are working on a partnership with HP Inc. and Superfeet who leverages 3D printing technology to produce customized footwear. The companies will combine Superfeet’s FitStation and Brooks Run Signature to make shoes based on an individual customer’s...
Reebok's Flexweave Fabric
Post by Charlie White on Jan 18, 2018
Reebok has recently revealed a new material in its possession that it believes might be the future of both athletic footwear and sports apparel. Going by the name Flexweave, the new fabric uses a unique construction method to make a figure eight design. It can then be interlaced with an...
The Approaching Futurecraft 4D
Post by Charlie White on Jan 15, 2018
In previous articles, I have mentioned Adidas’ Futurecraft 4D but we have never heard anything regarding an actual release. The sneakers will feature a Primeknit upper but a 3D printing sole. They have been coveted by sneakerheads, but have remained untouchable. Turns out, however, that Adidas will be dropping the...
Philippe Holthuizen's 3D Shoes
Post by Charlie White on Jan 10, 2018
Seven months of product design could prove to be a challenge for most people to build a single feature. A product designer, Philippe Holthuizen was able to disrupt the footwear industry with 3D printed men’s shoes within that time frame. Philippe was able to accomplish a lot in his design...
New Balance Sieves And Powder
Post by Charlie White on Jan 05, 2018
New Balance is one of the world’s largest shoe manufacturers. Back in 2013, the company used 3D printing for the first time to create custom spike plates for track athlete Jack Bolas. After this New Balance continued to supply customized 3D printed spines and cleats to sponsored athletes. In 2015...
Adidas's Movement Toward The Future
Post by Charlie White on Jan 02, 2018
Adidas has proven that they are constantly searching for ways to improve the manufacturing process. One of their ways to achieve a smarter and faster process was through launching their Adidas Speedfactory. One of Adidas’s goals is to have a decentralized, flexible manufacturing network that can react to local consumer...
3D Printing Changes The Shoe Industry
Post by Charlie White on Dec 27, 2017
Usually, the time to develop a new sneaker can span over a year, but thanks to 3D printing for both prototyping and manufacturing we can reduce the time. Rather than using expensive steel molds and thermoplastic injection molding, 3D printed shoe companies can prototype shoes quickly and affordably. It may...
Supply With 3D Printing
Post by Charlie White on Dec 18, 2017
Being unable to correlate demand with supply has been a challenge for supply chains. Finding a balance is difficult, and suppliers turn to algorithms to figure out how much of their products will be needed at a certain time and place to meet a demand. To deal with this, suppliers...
