Luvocom-News

LUVOSINT® TPU – 3D-printing commercialized in the sports shoe industry

Since 2013, Lehmann&Voss&Co. has been investing in industrial 3D-printing and developing new materials for this purpose which are marketed under the name of LUVOSINT©. At the focus of this work is the industrial mass production of innovative end products by 3D laser sintering, for which a selection of materials is already available. In March of this year, an important milestone was reached in this connection.

The American manufacturer of sports clothing and accessories Under Armour Inc. became the first company to launch 3D-printed sports shoes onto the market. The midsole was printed with LUVOSINT© TPU and thanks to its novel geometries offers outstanding characteristics in terms of its practical application: the printed midsole uses a new way of combining cushioning and stability for indoor training. Under Armour is providing a very impressive demonstration of geometric freedoms in laser sintering in this product. “Our LUVOSINT© TPU powder provides the very exceptional intrinsic TPU material properties while the geometry of the sole designed by software imparts additional digital material properties,“ explained Dr Marcus Rechberger, responsible for LUVOSINT© and 3D-printing at Lehmann&Voss&Co. The colour and surface of the product are the result of intensive collaboration with the Under Armour Innovation Team. Consequently, the product sets new standards in 3D-printing.

Customers have demonstrated how much they appreciate the exceptional performance of this product which has been developed within a period of two years: the first limited edition sold out within a few minutes – a good signal for the next models now scheduled, which also make use of the similarly tailor-made laser sintering materials by Lehmann&Voss&Co.