Danish footwear manufacturer ECCO has decided to use Stratasys Origin One 3D printers and Henkel Loctite materials to accelerate the shoe design process at its facilities in Portugal and Denmark.
After numerous tests, ECCO decided to use Stratasys Origin One® 3D printing technology to accelerate shoe design. This technology allows industrial footwear to be analyzed early in the development cycle using Henkel Loctite 3D printed molds and polymer pads.
An important innovation is the Direct Injection Process (DIP) method. This method opened up many new possibilities for ECCO, including an efficient and secure way of attaching the upper to the midsole.
In order to explore new innovative approaches to shoe manufacturing, ECCO decided to turn to additive manufacturing using the Origin One 3D printer using Stratasys P3 ™ patented technology.
When developing new models at its factories in Denmark and Portugal, ECCO uses printers to 3D print molds and shoe lasts of the same quality as their CNC-machined aluminum counterparts. Molds and pads printed with Henkel Loctite photopolymer are faster and cost-efficient than CNC machining of aluminum. At the same time, the quality of footwear produced using additive manufacturing technology is not inferior to the quality of footwear produced using traditional aluminum CNC molds.
By 3D printing DIP molds instead of machining them, it is possible to print one pair of mold inserts per night, which is significantly cheaper than producing a couple of CNC-machined molds. This method allows designers and developers to test functional shoes in the early stages of product development, and the development team to confirm that the shoe models meet the necessary requirements and their comfort. There is an opportunity to test models with potential customers to get feedback and assess the pre-sale capabilities of the model early in the manufacturing process. Finally, ECCO can now quickly produce mold inserts where they are needed, eliminating the need to transport heavy metal molds, reducing costs and minimizing the risk of delayed delivery.
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