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German eyewear manufacturer, Powder & Heat has announced it has achieved a ‘coup’ in 3D printed eyewear by bringing to market custom frames with multi-coloured textures.
The company is award-winning for its contemporary designs, and has now achieved high luminosity and high-quality eyewear frames, allowing opticians to expand their offering and customers to benefit from spectacles with more extravagant designs.
Powder & Heat believe it is pushing 3D printing technology into a new dimension, set to transform how eyewear is made: “There is no manufacturing process more appropriate to quickly and inexpensively fulfil a customer’s desire for personalised glasses,” a company press release reads. “The selected model is always guaranteed to fit. In addition, the frames printed in nylon are 30% lighter than traditional acetate frames.”
Materialise is the most notable additive manufacturing player making moves into the eyewear industry – partnerships with Yuniku and Safilo Group ensuring an accurate design and efficient production of eyewear products. Powder & Heat, however, believes it is taking the lead on multi-coloured textured eyewear frames. Thus far, the only 3D printed eyewear products available have been single solid colours, though Safilo Group has been prototyping multi-coloured frames with Stratasys’ J750 platform. Stratasys is another company targeting the eyewear market, perhaps inspired by Safilo’s efforts, releasing the VeroFlex Rapid Prototyping Eyewear Solution at TCT Show last week. This solution combines the VeroFlex material with the J750 machine and outputs prototypes stiff and flexible enough to endure testing.
Powder & Heat is releasing 24 different models in 18 sizes. There are nine different colour combinations and 12 texture combinations, enough to satisfy almost every desire, per the company. Opticians can order the 3D printed eyewear frames by contacting Powder & Heat directly.
