From Shoe Design to Finished Prototype in Just 2 Hours! (and 6 Easy Steps)

This is quoted from http://blog.objet.com/2011/08/04/from-shoe-design-to-finished-prototype-in-just-2-hours-and-6-easy-steps/ .

August 4, 2011

With a couple of hours to spare on a hot August afternoon I decided to have a go at printing a shoe sole on our new Objet260 Connex multi-material 3D printer. Here are the 6 steps I went through to produce my final model – taking just under 2 hours from start to finish:
Step 1 - I produce the shoe sole design on my CAD system. I want to produce a model with a rigid transparent sole and rubber-like treads to closely match the look and feel of the real thing. 






Step 2 - I export the CAD file to an STL file and then import the STL into the Objet Studio ready for printing. I then arrange how I want the shoe to be oriented on the build tray and which materials I want to assign to each part of the shoe. In this case I designate Objet TangoBlack rubber-like material to the tread shell and Objet VeroClear – a rigid transparent material to the sole shell.
With other prototyping technologies the two different shells – the treads and the sole would have to be printed seperately and then glued together by hand. Not so with the Objet260 Connex! Both shells – with their different material properties are printed in a single piece with no post-gluing required and no extra manipulation of the CAD files. All of this saves me a substantial amount of time and effort.
(Note that there’s space on this tray for many more shoe soles or any other 3D models – and you don’t have to be limited to the same material mix! You can mix up different material versions of various parts and print them on the same tray - all at the same time.) 
Step 3 - Print! Print! Print! (See the UV light on this Objet260 Connex machine which cures the Objet materials as each layer is deposited on the build tray.)





Step 4 - I then remove the completed model – encased by the support material.






Step 5 – I wash the soluble support material away in the waterjet.







Step 6 – Presto! I hold and test my finished multi-material shoe sole prototype just two hours after working the design on my CAD screen! If a designer is not happy with the final model it’s simplicity itself to tweak the design and print again.
In a single day you can go through many design and testing cycles that would have previously taken days or weeks to achieve using conventional prototyping methods. This is a true force multiplier for designers, engineers and manufacturers everywhere who want to build better products and get them to market faster in today’s ever-more competitive business environment.