Having used Carbon's Digital Light Synthesis 3D printing technology for five years, Adidas recently launched the STRUNG concept with the 'most radical 3D printed midsole' to date.
To learn more, TCT put some questions to Marco Kormann [MK], Director of Platform Innovation at Adidas Future & Fionn Corcoran-Tadd [FCT], Innovation Designer at Adidas Future.
The STRUNG midsole is said to be the most radical of the Futurecraft running shoe series to date – what is the benefit of these design advancements in terms of performance and capabilities?
FCT: Futurecraft STRUNG’s midsole is the biggest rework of the 4D design to date. The levels of precision that Adidas 4D offers allowed us to create a new shape and lattice structure to cater specifically for forefoot-striking runners who hit 5m/s or faster – the target group of this first concept shoe.
The heel weight is reduced and provides cushioning where needed – and the rubber outside is also designed with precise traction zones, resulting in an extremely minimalist midsole throughout.
What is the materials expertise of Carbon adding to the development of Futurecraft shoes?
MK: The 4D midsole material is made out of a blend of UV curable resin and polyurethane. It’s a stiff elastomer that can be printed in a lattice structure to create a high-performance piece that’s flexible and durable. Our designers can programme athlete data directly into that midsole lattice structure, and each strut can be positioned and tuned to provide a range of features, such as support, propulsion and cushioning, for a specific sport, movement or group of athletes.
In the development phase, can you explain how you measure the performance of the midsole in particularly and then how you use that information to iterate?
Adidas
MK: We use software for simulated testing to ensure only designs that meet performance criteria are created. The simulation tools allow us to iterate and perfect designs based on the features needed, which can be performance tested and evaluated on-screen.
FCT: For physical testing, Futurecraft STRUNG, and all 4D midsoles, was put through Adidas’ material and athlete wear performance standards and we’ve also tested with runners through hundreds of kilometres and it performed great. Feedback was shared with the designers who were able to tweak the concept accordingly – it’s a precise and efficient way to produce.
You have been working with Carbon 3D printing technology for several years now, how do you assess the progress made in that time, from the 3D Runner shoe to STRUNG?
MK: We’ve made great progress – not just in our ability to scale, but also in exploring how it can be used for different groups of athletes and consumers. We’re constantly refining the 4D process itself – broadly each season we try to focus on making the midsoles lighter, with faster printing/manufacturing times. Futurecraft STRUNG has shown us how flexible and even more precise we can be with 4D.
It was mentioned when the STRUNG shoe was announced that it would not be launched until late 2021 at the earliest. What happens between now and then?
FCT: Both the shoe and STRUNG tech will be developed in parallel over the coming seasons. We are focusing on four key areas of development for the future of Strung: refining the data-driven design process, exploring how we can use more sustainable emerging and innovative materials, working with more athletes/athlete data and enhancing the STRUNG hardware and software’s capability.
As part of our open source innovation strategy, we teamed up with Kram/Weisshaar - an international design studio working at the forefront of industrial design and advanced robotic manufacturing methods - who have been pivotal in accelerating our robotics and software knowhow. Through this collaboration, we’ve redesigned the end-to-end design process.
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Can you explain if and how the STRUNG shoe will be available commercially?
FCT: Futurecraft STRUNG is a proof of principle and so isn’t available for purchase. The shoe was created to show what STRUNG, and Adidas 4D, is capable of to create a product for a very specific group of athletes that hit 5m/s or faster during short distance training runs. We’re aiming to launch the first STRUNG shoe for another runner profile in late 2021/early 2022.
STRUNG is the next innovation from Futurecraft. Each set fresh direction for Adidas - the projects are not concept cars and will all be commercially developed. What’s different about Futurecraft is that we expose our exploration as it happens, rather than waiting years to show something polished. We believe that sharing our discoveries and inventions can fuel and inspire us all to move forward and also creates a healthy landscape for challenge.
How does Adidas intend to evolve and improve Futurecraft shoes and the latticed midsoles going forward?
MK: The future of our additive creation technologies, like STRUNG and 4D, will be the increased ability to understand more about different athletes using high-resolution data/dynamic movement capture and contextual data, matched with these new tools and materials, that will allow us to continue breaking the rules of conventional methods of make. We’re scratching the surface potential for what the collision of two things could mean.
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