Apr. 14, 2015 | By Simon
For many who own a 3D printer or otherwise have access to a 3D printer with relative ease, one of the most exciting parts of having access to on-demand additive manufacturing has been in the ability to change existing spending habits and learn how to create custom products that would otherwise be purchased for significantly more. Among other objects include replaceable parts for appliances (which alone can add up to hundreds of dollars) and - depending on one’s level of skill - various housewares and/or custom electronic housings for everything from video game controllers to wireless speakers.
But among all of the possible things one could seemingly 3D print as a way of replacing a spending habit, shoes aren’t likely to be up high on that list - unless of course, you’re open source designer Onyx Ashanti.
“I promised myself that I would stop buying things that I could make, even if I couldn’t make whatever at the time that I needed/wanted it,” Ashanti says on his blog. “In this spirit, I promised myself that I would never buy another pair of shoes because surely I could design something better than shoes, right?”
Ashanti, who gave a TED talk in 2011 titled “This is Beatjazz”, is a Mississippi native with a background in music, programming, additive manufacturing and open source philosophy. The “This is Beatjazz” TED talk focused on a concept he has been working on for years now that combines jazz music with a multi-sensory immersive experience that includes the use of 3D printing - proving that he’s no stranger to the technology.
“What’s better than shoes?!” Asks Ashanti.
“Are they foot protection? Are they a status symbol? Are they a cultural identifier? Are they a magic spell meant to bind you within a certain range of movements?”
With an open mind, Ashanti dove straight into researching what would be the best possible outcome for his shoe design, however he decided that he wanted to have the same freedom for his feet that he has for his hands, as well as the ability to put his weight naturally on his forefoot and not his heel.
After further iterating on some concepts, Ashanti ended up with a biomechanical “exo-foot” design that is capable of snapping together with hinged pieces that are capable of being rigid when necessary and completely bio-mechanically compliant the rest of the time.
Says Ashanti:
“The design was deceptively simple; a hinged heel that rotates freely, which was hinged to the midfoot by a hinge underneath the ankle (because you don’t want scratchy nylon touching your ankle, trust me), which then connected to a mid-foot hinge, which then connected to a mechanical forefoot which moved fluidly with the forefoot.”
Among other unique attributes of Ashanti’s final design is that the shoe is capable of morphing into different iterations based on what is needed - such as a shoe that works with bicycle clips or a shoe that features controllable lights.
In manufacturing the shoe on an FDM 3D printer, Ashanti used a combination of both Taulman Bridge Nylon and Eco-Flex PLA filaments. Between the two materials, he was able to go the full spectrum of hard to soft materials depending on what was needed within the final shoe design.
The resulting 3D printed shoe is not merely just a shoe but rather, an open “footwear platform”. Perhaps inspired partially from his experience with creating open source designs, Ashanti’s exo-foot design is designed to evolve as the tools that create it are also able to evolve.
Or at least, in Ashanti’s own words:
“(I just want to) make them comfortable so I can recycle these old ass Nikes.”
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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