Shoes and 3D Printing

Shoes and 3D Printing

The application of 3D printing technology in shoe design, research and development, casting, and production has been very mature. In particular, through three-dimensional data, shoe molds can be manufactured quickly. Compared with the traditional shoemaking process, 3D printing technology is more intelligent and automated, and has the advantages of labor saving, high efficiency, precision and flexibility.

At present, UnionTech's 3D printing technology is reshaping the entire shoe industry, forming a new round of competitive advantage by virtue of fast, efficient, and personalized.

IP foam mold

With high strength and hardness, high material fineness

Wooden mold/sample mold

Low viscosity, high resolution, good toughness, high molding accuracy

Soft material

With low viscosity and high flexibility, it can effectively inhibit beam penetration and avoid deep curing. The sample can be folded 180 degrees without breaking, and has good tearing performance

Swift mold

With high strength, hardness and high temperature resistance

Traditional shoe mold production requires design, programming, CNC, machining, mold repair, mold trial, and textured process. The whole processing is very complicated, the cycle is long and the cost is high. In the fashion industry, the renewal and replacement of shoe companies' products plays a vital role in occupying the market. The application of 3D printing in shoe companies greatly simplifies the production process of shoe molds, greatly improves production efficiency, and continuously improves product update speed.

UnionTech has solved many pain points in the application of 3D printing technology in the shoe industry, from improving production efficiency and reducing costs to the application of digital textured process technology, thus forming a complete set of systematic shoe mold 3D printing solutions. After years of hard work, we have established a friendly and stable cooperative relationship with Adidas, a world-renowned shoe brand, and Baocheng International Group, the world's largest shoe manufacturer.

“The application of 3D printing in the footwear industry can be divided into three stages. The first stage is the prototype printing stage, such as printing wooden molds and trying on soft soles; the second stage is the customization stage, which prints real shoe soles in batches; and the third stage is quantitative manufacturing, which prints swift mold, metal mold, real-like soles. During the same period, various 3D printing technologies developed together, such as SLA, SLS, CLIP, SLM, etc. SLA dominates this field because it provides several different technology options to meet the needs of a variety of key footwear applications.” Wang Zhoutai, Director of the Footwear Business Department of UnionTech Technology, said at the 2021 Jinjiang Shoes Expo.