If you have ever thought about 3D printing shoes, you will enjoy watching the video below Portland based company Which makes shoes on demand using HP MJF 5200 3D Printer. Granted, this isn't a printer you're likely to have in your basement. A one ton printer costs up to a half million dollars but it's quite interesting to watch it do its job.
The printer doesn't manufacture the entire shoe, but just a spongy foam-like TPU footbed and heel. They run the printer overnight and remove about a dozen pairs at a time. It takes quite a bit of cleaning to prepare the piece. Of course, the assembly of the rest of the shoe has to be taken into account as well.
One of the advantages of this approach is obviously the lack of waste. We didn't know, but apparently traditional shoes fly into landfills. These shoes are made for recycling and the company offers discounts to those who send in used pairs.
Of course, another advantage is the speed of producing new designs. However, we think about the economics of using a printer that costs at least $300,000 to make a dozen pairs of shoes a night. The shoes aren't cheap—we've heard they run from $175 to $375 per pair, but they're not that expensive either. Our bad business math shows that even if you can make 100% profit and have 0 wasted shoes, it will take decades to pay back on one of these printers. This number changes over hundreds of years, taking into account the actual cost, profit and other factors. Still, maybe they lease the printer or share the time, we're not sure.
like going? try the digital shoe design kit, These shoes are stylish enough, but with 3D printing, you can make whatever you can imagineEven if it makes you look like an idiot.
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