Nike is wasting no time justifying its placement at the top of Fast Company’s list of Most Innovative Companies of 2013. Yesterday, Nike introduced the Vapor Laser Talon, the first ever football cleat produced with 3D printing technology. Nike designers worked with elite trainers and gold medal sprinter, Michael Johnson, to design the shoe, which weighs only 5.6 oz and is built for mastering the 40 yard dash.
Photo courtesy of nikeinc.com
The cleat contains a 3D printed plate, which is designed to optimize an athlete’s acceleration through the first 10 yards of the 40 yard dash. It was built using Selective Laser Sintering Technology (SLS), an additive manufacturing process which uses a high power laser to fuse together small particles of plastic, metal, ceramic, or glass powders. The laser selectively fuses the material layer by layer until the part is complete, based on a 3D description of the product in the form of a CAD file.
“SLS technology has revolutionized the way we design cleat plates – even beyond football – and gives Nike the ability to create solutions that were not possible within the constraints of traditional manufacturing processes” said Shane Kohatsu, Director of Nike Footwear Innovation.
With 44,000 employees and annual revenue of $24 billion in 2012, there are boundless possibilities for what Nike can do. We look forward to seeing what they cook up in the Innovation Kitchen in coming months!
[…] than two weeks after Nike announced their new innovation, a football cleat which is created utilizing 3D printing technology, New Balance has come to the […]