On July 5th, 2019 Peak Sport released one more pair of improved sneakers called Future Fusion Peak3D. It has 3D printed soles, upper and quarter sections, it means almost fully printed. Thereby they are different from sneakers of other manufacturers, where only the insole is 3D printed as it is at FUTURECRAFT and ALPHAEDGE 4D (Adidas). According to Nanjixiong reports, the first 600 pairs were available on the company’s online shopping store on July 5th and were sold out in a few seconds. The price is also about ¥1299 ($189). The weight of one pair of these sneakers is about 520 grams.
As it always happens Chinese advanced developments, as well as the details of the technological process are shrouded in secrecy. But it has recently become known that the soles of the sneakers are produced using selective laser sintering (SLS) and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) material. To make a transparent mesh effect the upper part is made with the help of fused deposition modelling (FDM/ FFF) using a filament of thermoplastic polyurethane. This production method, as well as innovative materials make the sneakers very lightweight, breathable and with environmentally friendly surface. Moreover, this design has an opportunity to provide shock absorption and offers a slip resistant property which makes them the right decision for those people who don’t stop doing sports even in winter.
There are a lot of incredible manufacturers who already produce athletic gear with help 3d printing technology. Among them, for example: Reebok, Adidas, Nike, New Balance. But these are American and European ones. One decent representative of this sphere is China.
Peak Sport is one of the famous Chinese companies which specializes in creating sport inventory as well. This manufacturer uses customised 3D printers that can make footwear production. The company has five research centers, with four located in China and one in Los Angeles. The center in Beijing started to develop the 3D printing shoe technology for its brand in 2013.
Later, in 2017 they launched a new line of sneakers. The soles of these shoes and some top elements were 3D printed with the help of an SLS-printer (laser sintering) from thermoplastic polyurethane. This model was resistant to different kind of damage, elastic and comfort during jogging, jumping and walking. Because of a material the weight of shoes was slightly reduced and you couldn’t feel the difficulty of doing sports. The name of a line was Future what reflected the rapid development in this field. The whole collection was focused on the domestic market.
Dwight Howard, the player of the US National Basketball Association, had a chance to try out the novelty in autumn of 2017. He said that one day people would see him in these shoes during NBA tournaments, as he highly appreciated Future. Peak Sport’s rapid extension of new methods in proceeding sport goods makes it to be in a pole position. The company’s startup printing partner Z Sharp 3D Technology has already invested approximately $3 million in a new TPU 3D printing facility in Wuhu. This shows that in the future manufacturers intend to improve technology. I am sure they won’t stop at the things they have already achieved so we are going to monitor the releasing of their new products.
Image sourse: cdninstagram.com, 3dprintingmedia.network
