Metal Additive Manufacturing Capabilities for Footwear Prototyping and Product Creation

Abstract

In the footwear industry, the speed in which footwear designs reach the market impacts the ability for a company to accurately meet the demands of its customers as the probability of consumer preferences changing increases with time. This research investigates the impact of incorporating metal additive manufacturing capabilities into the product creation process of a major athletic footwear company. The study aims to determine whether and under which applications metal additive manufacturing can increase the speed at which footwear designs reach the market, while maintaining or improving the desired product quality. A case study approach was employed, focusing on the development of rubber outsole molds using metal additive manufacturing technology. The study compared two process flows that excluded and included metal additive manufacturing. The case study evaluated these processes based on the speed of the development process and the quality of the produced footwear samples. The footwear sample quality was measured against production-equivalent samples obtained from the company’s manufacturing partner. The results demonstrated that incorporating metal additive manufacturing capabilities led to a reduction in the time required for mold design and fabrication. This speed advantage was primarily attributed to the ability to directly fabricate detailed textures into the mold, eliminating the need for outsourced etching processes. The visual quality of samples produced did not fully match those created by the company's manufacturing partners but were sufficient for initial sample development. Importantly, the traction properties were comparable to those of the manufacturing partner's samples, indicating that the functional quality of the samples is adequate for product development purposes. This research provides valuable insights into the potential of metal additive manufacturing in accelerating footwear product development. Future work recommendations include exploring advanced modeling and design software and examining the impact of machine parameters on build quality. The findings of this study have implications for both the footwear industry and other sectors considering the integration of metal additive manufacturing technologies into their product development processes.