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Product category: Rapid Prototyping
News Release from: Rapid Techniques | Subject: Spectrum Z510
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 21 January 2008

Fast 3D printing speeds footwear design

The Spectrum Z510 accepts CAD files from Timberland's 3D mechanical design software and produces physical models affordably and quickly.

The Timberland company needs its shoes to look good, feel good and perform well While the upper is mostly fashion design, the intense engineering comes in where the foot meets the insole and where the outsole meets the street

Engineers continuously refine concepts for arch-support, tread patterns, materials, heel stabilisers, orthotic devices and "lasts" (foot models) in computer-aided design (CAD) software.

As recently as 2002, Timberland hired professional model makers to turn 2D CAD drawings into 3D prototypes in wood or foam.

These prototypes typically took a week or more to create at a cost of US $1200 each.

The lead-time hamstrung the company's ability to refine their models to their satisfaction in a timely manner.

As a result, the company regularly lengthened its design cycle or just lived without the refinements it wished for.

"Time and money aside, the problem with the old approach is that a 2D CAD drawing left too much to the imagination", says Toby Ringdahl, Computer-Aided Design Manager in the company's footwear product development and engineering group.

"When the prototype was finally ready, it wasn't exactly what people imagined".

"But a week is a long time to wait for a new iteration".

Timberland realised it needed more prototypes sooner.

The company assigned Ringdahl's team to spend six months evaluating rapid prototyping options.

After weighing-up alternatives, Timberland chose the ZPrinter 310 System from Z Corporation.

In 2005, Timberland took the next step by investing in the Spectrum Z510 System, providing 24bit colour and 600 dpi resolution.

Z Corporation has the only technology that can print parts in full colour, which communicates design information far more effectively than monochrome.

Colour can be used not only to produce a lifelike object, but for stress analysis, product labelling, or to highlight key parts or revisions.

"In our industry, the pressure is always intense to quickly and affordably turn the marketer's vision and the consumer's taste into reality that performs well, feels good and looks great".

"Z Corp printers have done exactly that for us, compressing our design cycles, lowering our costs and helping us produce better products for our customers", comments Ringdahl.

The Spectrum Z510 accepts CAD files from Timberland's 3D mechanical design software and produces physical models affordably and quickly.

The performance has made a substantial impact on Timberland's efficiency and spending.

For example, a prototype that used to cost Timberland US $1200 now costs US $35.

A prototype that used to take a week to make now takes 90 minutes, enabling engineering and marketing employees to collaborate more often and more closely.

Printing out rapid colour prototypes onsite has enabled Timberland to compress its typical design cycle from three weeks to two.

The Spectrum's large build area delivers additional time saving.

Since it is larger than the ZPrinter 310, engineers can print full-size prototypes flat on the build area instead of on an incline, saving three hours of printing time on such jobs.

Spectrum's speed and efficiency has resulted in continuous product quality improvement.

In the weeks Timberland recoups by no longer waiting for prototypes, it can pump out dozens of iterations of a shoe design if it needs to.

As a result, more designers, engineers and marketers can see more products in a shorter amount of time, helping Timberland refine its footwear for fit, function and style.

"We can now quickly do innumerable iterations and variations, and the designers and marketing managers can really be sure the product is what Timberland is expecting and what people on the street are demanding" Ringdahl says.

The investment in Spectrum also eliminates major ancillary costs late in development, like time-consuming trips around the world to examine important shoe moulds in overseas plants.

Since Timberland can now reach consensus for designs on 3D physical models, there's no longer any need for a careful examination of the production shoe mould.

Finally, colour is a key benefit.

It better conveys design intent and the Spectrum's unparalleled resolution enables details like lugs on the sole, speed hooks on the upper and tiny print on the sole to show up perfectly".

"The closer the prototype is to real life, the less you leave to the imagination", says Ringdahl.

"Unfortunate surprises are eliminated".

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