[In-depth] The application of 3D printing technology in the field of shoemaking

3D printing is today's leading manufacturing technology, with its solid advantages such as integrated molding, high efficiency, simple operation, safety and environmental protection, intelligent monitoring and management, and unattended operation, it is steadily moving forward in the footwear industry. 3D printing technology has developed rapidly in the design, production and personalization of shoes. The application direction has become more and more obvious. Many first-line sports brands, shoe factories and mold factories at home and abroad have adopted 3D printing technology for shoe sole design and mass production.

It’s known that the traditional shoe development model is that a pair of new shoes must be designed, opened, and other processes before production. In the past, it took a week to open the mold. If the actual model is not effective, it must be re-established. Designing the mold, it takes another two or three days for each modification. The cost of opening a mold is several thousand yuan or even tens of thousands.

A good design is the beginning of success, but as the speed of product innovation continues to accelerate, the product development cycle is continuously compressed, so the use of cutting-edge technology to help mold development is imperative. 3D printing technology does not require any mold or machining, and the development process is more intuitive and efficient. It takes only two or three hours to print the sole and heel. It is of great significance to the development of the footwear industry, the most prominent performance is to greatly shorten the sample development time, while improving the accuracy of the sample.

The meager profit of a single product is the characteristic of apparel products. Originally, with the low-cost supply of factors and the huge domestic and international market demand, enterprises can still survive in the case of mass sales. However, as labor costs have risen, raw material purchase prices have risen, the foreign trade market has shrunk, and corporate profits have been squeezed to the limit or even at a loss. This also explains the importance of accelerating the introduction and innovation of new technologies from another perspective.

Currently, both Nike and Adidas have begun to try to bring 3D printing into product manufacturing. Nike's Vapor Laser TalonBoot sneakers designed for American rugby players are made with 3D printing to enhance the athlete's sprint ability. The relevant person in charge of Adidas said that the traditional shoe mold requires 12 manual workers and is completed in 4-6 weeks. After the introduction of 3D printing technology, only two people can complete it in 1-2 days.

There is no doubt that 3D printing technology is still in the early stages of development, both domestically and globally. However, 3D printing technology has been widely used in the field of shoemaking:

• To replace wood mold: Utilizing 3D printing to directly produce shoe sample prototypes for foundry casting and precise printing to substitute for wood. Shorter time, fewer labor power, less materials, more complex pattern selectivity of shoe mold, more flexible and efficient processing, lighter noise, less dust and corrosion pollution. Prismlab has applied this technology in mass production with good results.

• All-round printing: 3D printing technology can print the entire six-sides at one time, without any needs for knife path editing, knife changing, platform rotation and other extra operations. Each shoe mold is correspondingly customized to acquire accurate expression. Besides, the 3D printer can build multiple models with different data specifications at one time, which significantly improves the printing efficiency.

• Fitting sample proofing: During development of slippers, boots etc., fitting shoe samples shall be provided before formal production. 3D printing enables test the compatibility between the last, upper and sole along with directly print the fitting sample, greatly shortening the design cycle of shoes.

Prismlab series of 3D printers use LCD stereolithography technology to achieve the most efficient mass production with an average printing period of 1.5 hours, which enables designers to evaluate the appearance and design of the sample and is suitable for the demonstration of marketing activities.

On basis of 3D digital manufacturing technology, Prismlab is committed to offering a comprehensive 3D printing solution for shoe molds, creating user value and improving customer experience, building connections between "Mass Customization" and "Distributed Manufacturing" for shoe users, continuously integrates, creates and evolves brand-new business modes.

In recent years, driven by industrial upgrading and market development, the introduction of new technologies is an inevitable choice for development. The application of Prismlab industrial 3D printing equipment in the shoe industry, its powerful styling ability and intelligent manufacturing ability, effectively solve the problems of difficult innovation, difficult development, and labor shortage. The outbreak of 3D printing in the footwear market has arrived. Sports brand combined with 3D printing technology is revolutionizing the manufacturing mode of traditional sole molds, and also promotes the further development of the entire industry. The shoe industry combined with 3D printing technology has also entered the era of mass production of mold-free products for manufacturing.