adidas and Carbon Announce Partially 3D Printed AlphaEDGE 4D LTD Shoe

In its 2015 announcement about the Futurecraft 3D printed shoe experience prototype, athletic shoe company adidas predicted that it would begin selling 3D printed shoes in the near future. Then came a limited release of its UltraBOOST Uncaged Parley, a conceptual 3D printed shoe made of recycled ocean trash, and its limited edition 3D Runner.

Not long after the German sportswear manufacturer launched a smart factory featuring robots and 3D printers in its home country, the announcement that everyone had been waiting for finally came – adidas introduced its first partially 3D printed athletic shoe to be produced at scale.

adidas partnered with Carbon for production of its high-performance running shoes, taking advantage of the company’s innovative Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology to 3D print the midsole for the shoes, which have graced the feet of Carbon employees at events from RAPID to the TCT Show.  Earlier this month, the partially 3D printed adidas Futurecraft 4D shoes were launched commercially in New York. But, lest you think adidas and Carbon are taking a break, we are excited to tell you that this is not the case.

Today, adidas announced the upcoming release of the AlphaEDGE 4D LTD, its latest running shoe created with Carbon technology. This limited high-performance shoe is a marriage between streetwear and performance, accomplished through athletic data-driven design and DLS 3D printing.

“Together with CARBON—and the firm’s Digital Light Synthesis technology—adidas uniquely crafts the midsole of each 4D shoe, harnessing light and oxygen to pioneering results. Using this breakthrough technique, adidas is able to create midsoles that are specifically tuned to provide superior, controlled energy return. This innovative process signals the future of manufacturing, through which, at some point, adidas footwear will be able to be produced, bespoke to the individual needs of each athlete’s foot,” adidas said in today’s announcement.

The AlphaEDGE 4D LTD comes out this coming Saturday, February 17, in Los Angeles, and will be available in core black, ash green, aero, and grey. In order to make sure that interested consumers in the LA area have fair, and safe, access to the shoes, the AlphaEDGE 4D LTD will first be available to reserve for $300 with the adidas App.

Starting today, and running through February 15th at noon PT, Los Angeles-area running shoe enthusiasts can sign up to reserve a pair of the shoes ahead of time via the app .

Those who manage to reserve a pair of AlphaEDGE 4D LTD shoes can pick them up on February 17th at the company’s Culver City and Santa Monica stores, and reservations will be confirmed on a first come, first served basis later this week. The adidas App will also send out push notifications, so users know exactly when the reservations window is open.

Additionally, a limited amount of AlphaEDGE 4D LTD shoes will be available on the adidas website, along with three retail locations in the LA area – Bait, Nice Kicks, and Undefeated – starting on February 17th.

What do you think of this announcement? Let us know your thoughts; join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.