Shoes Shine

By Sara Ferris

Shoemaker Reebok (Canton, MA) uses SLS prototyping and DuraForm Flex Plastic elastomeric material to create functional prototypes of its new footwear, sandal, and athletic equipment designs. DuraForm Flex Plastic, from 3D Systems (Rock Hill, SC) is flexible and soft, yet durable and resistant to tears.  Parts built from the material can withstand repeated bending and flexing. By varying machine process conditions, this material can consistently create parts with optimized Shore A hardnesses ranging between 45 and 75.

“Our application is different than most,” said Gary Rabinovitz, Rapid Prototyping Lab Manager at Reebok. “We build one or two confirmation samples out of 3D Systems’ DuraForm Flex Plastic. The parts are very flexible and can be painted, so we get the look and feel of a real shoe. For this type of application, we prefer DuraForm Flex to all the other materials available on the market.”

“Duraform Flex Material gives us a much more consistent and stable material for our flexible parts. We can setup large complex builds that run overnight with the confidence that we will have good results in the morning,” added Paul Bates, Director of Advanced Process Engineering for Reebok International.

Reebok produces parts with 0.15 mm. layer thickness, comparable to other flexible materials, but finds that DuraForm Flex Plastic delivers an exceptional surface finish and the ability to create parts with fine-feature details. By reducing layer thicknesses from 0.15 mm. to 0.1 mm., users can gain up to a 33 percent improvement in resolution using the material.

Secondary infiltration is optional, but users can add color, improve burst strength and create a water-tight barrier. Five colors are available – black, red, yellow, blue and natural, which can be mixed to create custom colors.

Other applications for DuraForm Flex Plastic include prototype gaskets, hoses and seals, and for the complex production and prototyping of plastic parts.