Adidas unveils Futurecraft 4D

12 Apr '17

2 min read

Adidas has unveiled Futurecraft 4D, first high-performance footwear with midsoles crafted with light and oxygen using digital light synthesis, a technology pioneered by Carbon. Unlike traditional manufacturing technology, digital light synthesis allows addressing of the needs of each athlete in regards to movement, cushioning, stability and comfort.

Futurecraft 4D's midsole is born out of 17 years of running data, and brought to functional reality through a pioneering digital footwear component creation process that eliminated the necessity of traditional prototyping or moulding. With the new technology, Adidas now operates on a completely different manufacturing scale and sport performance quality, officially departing from 3D printing, bringing additive manufacturing in the sports industry into a new dimension.

"With digital light synthesis, we venture beyond limitations of the past, unlocking a new era in design and manufacturing. One driven by athlete data and agile manufacturing processes," Eric Liedtke, Adidas executive board member responsible for Global Brands, said.

Digital light synthesis uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics and programmable liquid resins to generate high-performance, durable polymeric products. Futurecraft 4D is Adidas's first application of the digital light synthesis, and represents the brand's step into athlete-data driven design and manufacturing. For this, Adidas analysed its library of running data to shape functional zones into a midsole design crafted through digital light synthesis.

Carbon's unique programmable resin platform offers unparalleled performance with respect to material durability and elastomeric responsiveness. Five thousand pairs of Futurecraft 4D will be available in 2017 and more than 100,000 pairs by end of 2018.

Dr. Joseph DeSimone, Carbon co-founder and CEO, said, "Despite the influence of technology to improve almost every other aspect of our lives, for eons the manufacturing process has followed the same four steps that make up the product development cycle - design, prototype, tool, produce. Carbon has changed that; we've broken the cycle and are making it possible to go directly from design to production."

Digital light synthesis enables Adidas designers, sports scientists and engineers to bring even the most intricate designs of their imagination into physical reality. More importantly, it overcomes shortcomings of conventional additive manufacturing methods (i.e. 3D printing) such as low production speed and scale, poor surface quality, and colour and material restrictions.

Carbon is a Silicon Valley-based tech company. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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