The first end-to-end digital supply chain for custom-fit ski boots will very soon be implemented. This innovation is the result of a collaboration of Materialise, one of the leaders in the 3D printing industry and Tailored Fits, winter sports gear and tailored footwear specialist.
The innovation brought by both companies
Materialise and Tailored Fits allow customers to have their feet scanned by Tailored Fits’ speciality sporting goods retailers in ten minutes.
Thanks to the digital supply chain process, they can receive custom 3D printed insoles for various sports in under ten days.
If the pilot phase was a true success, both companies aim now to provide skiers with the option to fully customize either their ski boot liner or the entire ski boot for optimum comfort and performance.
The importance of 3D printing
“We saw that 3D printing had massive potential in this respect, but this isn’t our area of expertise. Ski boots and sports gear, is. We know the market, we know skiers, we know the biomechanics involved in sports motion; we have access to one of the world’s best sports gear development labs in Italy. From our partnership with Materialise, we received access to the additive manufacturing expertise to develop the best 3D printed solution, and the answer to making mass customized production a reality”, said Reto Rindlisbacher, CEO of TAILORED FITS AG.
For Dr Alireza Parandian, on the other side, Corporate Innovations and Global Strategist for Wearables at Materialise, “ identifying the right material and the right interior structures was just part of the puzzle. “The process of analysing anatomically detailed 3D scans, converting that individual body data into print-ready instruction and automating the ordering, production and delivery process – in other words creating a unique digital supply chain – meant working incredibly closely with the Tailored Fits team to develop the ‘tailored fit’ for them. Working with these guys has been a real honour and a co-creation project in the truest sense of the term.”
Tailored Fits ski boots will be available in leading sporting goods retailers from December 2017.
For further information about 3D Printing, follow us on our social networks and subscribe to our newsletter!
//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});