Engineering news
Reebok has introduced its Liquid Factory, a technique that uses software and robotics to draw shoes in three dimensions, developed by the Reebok Future team.
The technique uses 3D drawing, similar to 3D-printing, where a patented liquid material, created especially for Reebok by the American materials manufacturer BASF, is used to draw shoe components and designs cleanly, precisely and in three-dimensional layers. This patented layering technique is used to create footwear without the use of traditional molds.
This technique allows Reebok to design and create a high performance athletic shoe faster and more efficiently compared to traditional footwear manufacturing methods.
Bill McInnis, head of Reebok Future, said: “Footwear manufacturing hasn't dramatically changed over the last 30 years. Every shoe from every brand is created using molds, an expensive, time-consuming process. With Liquid Factory, we wanted to change the way that shoes are made, creating a method to manufacture shoes without molds. This opens up possibilities both for what we can create, and the speed with which we can create it.
“With this process, we were able to program robots to create the entire shoe outsole, without molds, by drawing in layers with a high-energy liquid material to create the first ever energy-return outsole, which performs dramatically better than a typical rubber outsole. The Liquid Factory process is also used to create a fit system that stretches and molds around the foot, providing a three dimensional fit.”
The first concept shoe produced from this manufacturing process is the Reebok Liquid Speed. Liquid Speed is an energy return-focused running shoe that also brings the outsole and lacing together in one piece for a comprehensive feel and sensory feedback for the entire foot. Reebok is releasing the Liquid Speed with a limited edition 300 pair production run that is currently being sold online.
“We can create and customise the design of shoes in real time, because we’re not using molds, we’re simply programming a machine,” McInnis added.
Reebok plans to open its own Liquid Factory manufacturing lab in early 2017.