Covestro will be unveiling material concepts for running and basketball shoes with Axis Liu, at the K 2019 trade fair in October in Dusseldorf. The shoes are ideal for athletically active people for a healthy lifestyle and improved performance. The shoes include water-based polyurethane (PU) textile coatings and adhesives, PU foams, textile fibers and films made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTP). With the running shoe, Axis Liu was inspired by the “Multilayer Carved Ball” which has a dynamic structure handmade of several layers. On the running shoe, the dynamic, extraordinary structure of the midsole was made using a 3D printer. Because running shoes are worn so much outside, these shoes were made with a special INSQIN coating to make them water-resistant and breathable.
The basketball shoes were drawn with inspiration from the world of toys and modular construction. The midsole of the basketball shoe was made using in=mold foaming and contains expanding TPU which provides shock absorption. There are different requirements for both sports, so different individual components of the materials had to be used. Both shoes use Maezio carbon-fiber-reinforced TPU which is very light, but also extremely stiff and torsion-resistant. The material combination offers a high degree of design freedom and a strong appeal with unique, unidirectional fiber optics. The amazing thing about both pairs is that they are both recyclable.
Original Article: https://press.covestro.com/news.nsf/id/groundbreaking-athletic-shoes
#3DShoes #3DPrintedShoes #3DPrinted
