Adidas Makes Climamog Fully 3D Printed Shoe for $28 a Pair

September 16, 2024 by Joris Peels 3D Printing Consumer Goods Fashion Featured Stories

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Adidas has teased a new 3D-printed shoe, sending it to shoe photographer Tyler Mansour, also known as Arab Lincoln, who showcased it on his Instagram. Tyler introduced the shoes by saying, “the future has checked in.” He later mentioned that they feel softer than other 3D-printed shoes. This cautious tease appears to be a low-cost way to generate significant buzz while providing exclusive content to key figures in the sneakerhead community.

The shoe is called the Climamog and features what Adidas has termed CLIMACOOL to wick sweat. CLIMACOOL is also a line of Adidas products, including clothing. If Adidas has created a fully 3D-printed sneaker that is actually comfortable, the CLIMACOOL architecture could be significant. The issue with fully 3D-printed sneakers has typically been that, after a few minutes, they produce a squeaky, squishy sound, and feet begin to slide around in the sweaty plastic shoe. This design appears to be very open, and if it effectively wicks sweat, it could result in a comfortable, wearable athletic shoe, which would be a breakthrough. These shoes are made in Taiwan, so the Speedfactory may be closer to the older factory than those in Europe or the U.S.

The diligent shoe press has discovered that the shoe has an SKU number JQ8739 in the off-white style and is already available in Singapore for around $170. Additionally, they have uncovered a U.S. customs ruling on the shoe, which specifies an FOB price of $28 per pair. This suggests that many 3D printing techniques would be too expensive for this shoe, but it also indicates that Adidas is now able to produce a profitable fully 3D-printed shoe. At $28 per pair, their production process is significantly more cost-effective than most other technologies and services currently available. The ruling also states that…

¨Style JQ8739 Climacool is a unisex closed toe/closed heel, below-the-ankle, slip-on shoe. The upper and outer sole consists of 100 percent Polyurethane (PU) material. The shoe is 3-D printed in a small size and is baked to achieve the desired full size and having a mesh design. It does not have foxing or foxing like band. The shoe is not classified as an athletic shoe because it is a slip-on. The F.O.B. value is $28 per pair.¨

Now that sent my head spinning.

First, some sources claim that Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) process was not used for this shoe, based on the customs ruling, though this is uncertain. If true, it raises the question of whether Adidas will adopt this new process in the future or continue using multiple technologies. The low price of these polyurethane shoes gives Adidas a distinct advantage. The fact that they are baked suggests that the material is either a low-temperature curing two-component polyurethane, a higher-temperature curing single-component polyurethane (PU), or possibly a heat-cured photopolymer or a direct-from-monomer system.

This development might indicate that PU specialists have found a way to print PU independently of the established 3D printing industry. Taiwan, in particular, has seen promising work in this area, and many PU companies are already active in the footwear industry. Adidas could also be using a spray-on technique similar to the method ON employs. The simplest approach would be to use a mixing nozzle to print liquid PU, as companies like Lynxter do. VISOTEC nozzles, which have been applied to various two- and one-component elastomeric materials, could enable a fast printing process, especially if printed onto a last mounted on a motion stage, as ON does.

Another possibility is the use of a biobased PLA-based TPU, which has been demonstrated with an inexpensive Wiiboox printer. Voxel8 previously printed PU, and Kornit might now be using those printers to make shoes, which also required a baking step. It could also involve Synthene, where Direct Ink Writing has been used for PU, or even vat polymerization with PU resins. Additionally, Desktop Metal’s FreeFoam process could be a candidate, as some commenters have suggested.

Another possibility would be to use Rapid Liquid Print, which could be a viable alternative. Chromatic 3D Materials might also be a contender, as well as the UK-based startup Reactive Fusion. Although powder bed processes could work, the smooth finish on these shoes suggests otherwise. However, it’s conceivable that an inexpensive powder bed machine with TPU might be involved.

Alternatively, these shoes could still be made using Carbon’s process, and the phrase “baked to size” might simply refer to the curing process Carbon employs. In that case, the customs official could have interpreted Carbon’s curing process differently. While we might describe the design as being compensated for shrinkage, they might interpret it as the shoe shrinking to fit. If the shoe were made from Carbon’s material or another photopolymer-based material, it likely wouldn’t be 100% polyurethane, as the customs official suggests.

Regardless of the specific method, producing a pair of 3D-printed shoes for $28 is an impressive achievement.

$28 per pair—it’s possible, and we have proof of it: “The F.O.B. value is $28 per pair.” Adidas can produce 3D-printed shoes at this price, so why can’t others? We need to stop deluding ourselves. Artificially inflated material and machine prices are holding our industry back. If we want to grow, we must make things more affordable, or others will come in and wipe us out. We can’t afford to restrict our market for the sake of margins. If you aim to inflate margins and hinder the growth of 3D printing, you’ll end up marginalized yourself. Our small, insular hobby needs to transform into a true industry, and for that to happen, we need to drastically lower costs across the board.