A Sneaker 3D printed with a Robot
In 2017, MIT‘s Self-Assembly Lab published „Large-Scale Rapid Liquid Printing“, outlining a new manufacturing method for liquid materials. Deposited into a thick, clear gel, the material cures into shape. This thesis explores the application of liquid printing to sneakers. Entry into that market currently requires expensive injection moulding tools. Processing the same footwear materials with this technology requires no expensive moulds and makes one-off models possible.
The shoe is sketched and developed in Virtual Reality, drawn with lines in 3D space. And then the movement is converted to a tool path for an industrial robotic arm.
Sneakers, unlike traditional shoes, cannot be fitted with new soles and are quickly thrown out. Even if replacement soles were available, no store could stock them for all models and sizes. With liquid printing, they can be produced locally and on demand, for repairing and customising sneakers, as shown in the example below.
You can find more information here: https://liquidsneaker.com/
