How comfortable can 3D printed insoles be?Hush Puppies are ready to try

VOXEL8, headquartered in Boston, recently revealed that it will provide overall 3D printed insoles for a series of designer shoes to be launched by Hush Puppies. By integrating Voxel8’s additive manufacturing lattice into its latest shoes, Hush Puppies aims to provide them with enhanced durability and shock absorption. Switching to 3D printing can also enable shoe manufacturers to abandon complex tools, simplify their production workflows, and ultimately speed up the time to market for their products.

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Travis Busbee, CTO and co-founder of Voxel8, said: “Our sustainable and scalable technology has changed the way footwear is developed and produced. The design cycle time is shorter and the manufacturing process does not require tools.”softwaredriveDigital manufacturing opens the door to cost-effective custom design in the future. “

Since its founding in 2014 by a team of engineers from Harvard University, Voxel8 has become a developer of additive manufacturing systems, software and materials. In 2015, the company launched the first machine with Voxel8 Developers Kit, an electronic 3D printer capable of depositing PLA and conductive silver ink at the same time.

In addition to its proprietary system, Voxel8 also released a “Project Tool routing software included with Wire, which allows users to “drag and drop” components (such as LEDs, chips, and resistors) into the design in real time before uploading CAD Model, and the machine can be paused and resumed for adjustment.

The system’s flexible multi-material manufacturing capabilities provide it with different applications, from single-piece electronic products to the production of customized textiles and footwear. In the latter case, Voxel8 agreed to 3D print high-end fashion accessories for the Italian designer brand Eddy Ricami, most recently in March 2021.

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Since then, after installing ActiveLab machines at the Montecosaro factory, Eddy Ricami can customize his footwear and other clothing while reducing overall costs and delivery time. Following the designer’s successful use case, Hush Puppies now seems to choose to use Voxel8 technology as a means of optimizing the shock absorption performance of its latest shoes.

Through cooperation with Voxel8, Hush Puppies has developed an innovative new footwear series, which is said to “bring comfort and fashion to its loyal customers”. In order to achieve this goal, the two companies have worked hard to fine-tune the characteristics of the Voxel8 lattice inserts and produce insoles that provide the wearer with “higher comfort” and “sustained optimism”.

In the early production process, these companies found that the cushioning quality of the insole after 100,000 cycles did not change, and the thickness change was four times less than that of traditional foam. More importantly, given that Voxel8’s technology does not require tools at all, it is inherently more scalable than traditional processes and may allow Hush Puppies to shorten its design cycle time in the future.

Looking ahead, Voxel8 intends to increase the output of its Somerville MA plant and expand its production capacity in Asia to enter mass manufacturing there. Hush Puppies’ 3D printing optimized footwear will be put on the market in 2022.

“Hush Puppies is very excited to work with Voxel8 to build our history of comfort and innovation,” added Kate Pinkham, Vice President and General Manager of Hush Puppies. “The brand invented the casual style more than 60 years ago. We are committed to’reinventing the casual style’ in the next 60 years and bring new and innovative ways to the brand.”

(Editor in charge: admin)