The importance of collaboration in additive manufacturing has been heightened over the last few years with industry partnerships proving that two heads, or two companies, can be better than one. One of the best examples of this is Carbon’s collaboration with adidas on its Futurecraft 4D shoe, which will result in the highest volume production application for 3D manufacturing ever seen - 100,000 pairs featuring a 3D printed midsole by 2018 to be exact.
The collaboration took home the first TCT Consumer Product Application Award which highlights the role 3D technologies are playing in the development and manufacture of everyday consumer-led products.
TCT spoke to Paul DiLaura, Vice President of Sales at Carbon during TCT Show 2017 about how the Silicon Valley company's CLIP technology was used to develop this new midsole, and its expansion into the UK with production partners, Paragon and Fast Radius.
“We were really proud to win the TCT Award for our partnership with adidas and the programme we've announced the Futurecraft 4D shoe programme where we're making midsoles for their Futurecraft 4D shoe,” Paul told TCT. “It's a great partnership that we have with adidas. They spoke here at the [TCT Show] conference and gave an excellent presentation about their vision for the future and how they incorporate technology in order to reach and address their customers in new ways. 3D manufacturing with Carbon is a great way for them to do that. It's a novel design, a whole new approach that includes taking into account new structures, as well as ultimately personalisation, being able to have a digital model for each individual and produce midsoles that are unique for each consumer.”
For more videos and news from TCT Show 2017, click here.
