It has become clear that shoes will be the medium that brings 3D printing technology to the mainstream.
Every major shoe manufacturer has announced that they were entering the field of 3D shoe printing technology to customize footwear, cut inventory and storage costs, and increase the speed to production, among several other benefits.
A new piece from the Wall Street Journal is calling 2017 the year of the 3D printed shoes.
“By the end of 2017, the transformation of manufacturing will hit a milestone: mass-produced printed parts. Until now, that concept was an oxymoron, since 3-D has been used mainly for prototyping and customized parts,” said Christopher Mims of the WSJ.
“But the radical innovation of 3-D printing techniques means we are finally going to see some previously impossible designs creep into consumer goods.”
Those previously impossible designs are what Carbon 3D founder Joseph DeSimone announced would now be made possible through its revolutionary new 3D shoe printing technology, a technology that saw Carbon raise $222 million in funding along with a footwear partnership with Adidas AG(ADR)(ADDYY).
It was the announcement of Adidas’ first mass produced 3D shoe, the Futurecraft 4D, that has really propelled the 3D printing footwear movement into the mainstream, with nearly every major media outlet starting to pay attention.
After the announcement, leading Chinese footwear manufacturer Peak Sport announced its own 3D printed shoe, the ‘Future I’ , which will retail for $188 – the lowest of any major 3D shoe yet.
3D printing technology as a whole will see an explosion of implementation not only in footwear with Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, New Balance, and Peak all on board; major players HP Inc., Desktop Metal Inc., BASF SE, Oechsler AG, Caterpillar Inc., and Jabil Circuit Inc have all taken steps to incorporate 3D printing technology into their businesses in the near future.
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