U.S. based sports technology and ice hockey equipment brand鲍尔曲棍球is working with 3D printer manufacturerEOSto produce individually personalized 3D printed hockey helmets. The helmets can be bought by customers through Bauer’smybauercustom equipment program and it is hoped that this collaboration will enable the commercialized production of customizable helmets at-scale to reach the mass market for ice hockey.
Manufactured using EOS’s patented 3D printed Digital Foam™ technology, the player’s head is scanned to create a digital file, then Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is used to create an individual specific helmet insert.
Bauer is pursuing “mass customization”, according to Mathieu Dejardins, senior brand manager of protective equipment at Bauer. “Through our work with EOS and other partners, we are evolving MyBauer custom hockey equipment program to now include helmet inserts specific to the individual, but able to produce at-scale”. Dejardins also asserts that the Digital Foam technology, “keeps us out-front of product innovation while also bypassing other engineering and manufacturing limitations”.
Jon Walker, a Digital Foam expert at EOS, has called this product “amazing” and something which EOS is “proud” to be a part of. Walker has also suggested that the use of AM technology within the world of sport is growing, with the sports equipment industry “really starting to think about how to leverage 3D printing”. “Conventional manufacturing is not going to be supplanted by 3D printing, but rather augmented by it and this project is a stellar example”, continued Walker.
Using AM technology to produce safe, comfortable and lightweight helmets
EOS，以及其应用工程咨询公司加性思维, launched its数字泡沫计划back in 2019, with the intention of simplifying the process required to bring 3D printed foam products to-market. CEO of engineering software developernTopology, Bradley Rothenberg, claimed that Digital Foam “accelerates the adoption of 3D printing”. Rothenberg continued that this technology is ideal for the production of helmets “that are not only safer, but also light-weight and more comfortable”.
The experience EOS has gained through its Digital Foam program was key to becoming a part of this project. After benchmarking all industrial 3D printing OEMs and investigating how to leverage and incorporate AM into their business model, Bauer determined that EOS was the ideal candidate. Indeed, their patented Digital Foam approach to printing polymers make them particularly well suited.
Dejardins is keen to emphasize that “no two heads are alike”, and the ability to scan each customer’s head to produce truly individual specific helmet inserts is certainly key to this product. The 3D printed Digital Foam, personalized for the wearer, incorporates a complex, varying lattice. It is claimed that these inserts offer improved comfort and greater breathability. Moreover, the 3D printed foam inserts are slated as weighing only 580 grams, allowing for a lightweight final product. Once manufactured, the inserts are coloured, finished and prepared for final assembly into Bauer’s third generation REAKT helmets.
AM and the production of personalized sports equipment
Bauer is the latest sports equipment company to produce personalized equipment using AM. In 2021, sports goods manufacturerCCMpartnered with Montreal-based software firmShapeshift 3Dand 3D printer manufacturerCarbonto produce a custom-fitted3D打印的曲棍球头盔衬里。头盔称为Super Tacks X，使用Carbon的专有DLS树脂工艺打印衬里。但是，与鲍尔的产品不同，CCM头盔的个性化方面无法商业化。取而代之的是，定制的头盔目前仅适用于精英运动员，公共消费者可以从小，中和大小中进行选择。因此，鲍尔对个性化头盔的大众市场化肯定在冰球市场上提供了新的东西。
Away from ice hockey, EOS has also collaborated with protective clothing specialistsHEXR在2020年启动Head Scanning应用程序，使客户能够拥有custom cycling helmets3D打印。HEXR首席执行官杰米·库克（Jamie Cook）表示，3D打印正在促进“头盔技术的重大改进”。在其他地方，2021年自行车制造商Lorebegan offering personalized 3D printed cycle shoes – the LoreOne. Utilizing MORPHIC 3D Scan and Print technology, the LoreOne can be fully customized to an individual’s feet, with customers able to 3D scan their feet themselves using the Morphic app.
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特色图像显示Bauer Reakt头盔，其中包括个性化的3D打印泡沫插入物。图片通过EOS北美的图像。
