Killer 3D Printing Applications: Cooling for Body Armor, Helmets, Seats, & Safety Gear

In this ongoing series of Killer 3D Printing Applications, we’ve looked at a lot of things, including tools, tool voids, factory automation, aircraft seating, car seats, and more. We’ve been looking for nascent 3D printing applications that could turn into multi billion dollar businesses. Typically, they will use the ability of additive to iterate, be conformal, make complex integrated components, save mass, have optimal flow and unique textures, change part properties generally, and save costs for everyone in the value chain, while also benefiting end users.

One additional thing we often don’t think about, but should, is that we need several of these advantages stacked one onto another for the advantages to cumulate sufficiently for it to make sense to move to additive. Something we think of even less is that if something makes sense for additive, then adding more additive advantages to it is comparatively easy. In 3D printed helmets, we’re seeing that cooling and sweat wicking properties, as well as better moisture and heat management, generally are a major factor. This is helping to drive adoption of military and sports helmets. Similarly, heat management is driving broader adoption of wheelchair cushions as well. We also know that heat exchangers are a huge application in electronics, performance automotive, aerospace, and defense. Fluid handling and fluid handling systems, including soft robotics and things like hydraulics, are also growing. We’re also seeing more and more end-use parts in elastomeric components, something which we initially sucked at. Combining these disparate developments leads to something blindingly obvious and new at the same time.

On my walk yesterday, it was 20:00 and 32°C. The heat wave here in Europe has been brutal and unforgiving. A young man passed me, a lean construction worker wearing a yellow high visibility hat. The immensely wide brimmed hat hat had a cape behind him. For someone working outdoors all day in the scorching sun, this is a chillingly good hat. It’s ridiculous that we need something like this now, but I’m glad for him that he has it. Can’t we do a bit better, though?

 

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Body armor cooling is a big issue. The US military, for one, has tried again and again to develop body armor cooling systems. Japanese construction workers wear these puffy air jackets which are better implementations of what the military has come up with most of the time. A much less energy-intense system, the Ice Plate is amazing and essentially is an adaptation of putting a Camelbak (which a lot of soldiers already carry) in the freezer before putting it in between you and your plate carrier. The Body Armor vent uses the person’s breathing to vent an evaporative vest.

Tacvents are yet another alternative here: a corrugated rubber panel creates space and airflow, reducing temperature. Another option is the Maxxdri vest, which has over 700,000 customers. The company’s innovation was to create a 3D texturized space in a vest to create airflow and reduce heat buildup.

Now there’s no way we could make something like that, is there? Or add textures to it to better wick sweat? What about doing the same for shooting gloves, biking gloves, safety gloves, and other construction equipment? What about for firefighting helmets and gear? For all of these components, wearing them is going to be much more of a pain as heat persists. And if people stop wearing safety gear due to discomfort or heat, we will see more injuries, accidents, or deaths.

So the solution is easy. Let’s take the body armor example. We create corrugated elastomeric panels that have textures to wick sweat and reduce surface temperature. Perhaps they have Scilla-like structures to create more space and airflow. These panels are textured to remove air as the wearer walks and moves their arms. At the same time, a compression on a 3D printed bladder pushes air out periodically across the panel. There is room for ice inserts or adding Camelbaks to the structure if you’d like. The structure has porosity to promote airflow even further. And what’s more, it is contoured and the performance has been maximized according to the body.

Additionally, there will be an internal heat exchanger system whereby cold liquid could be routed around the body near the skin through channels. A pump can be used to move the liquid along manually to get it to circulate. The vest itself will be a flexible integrated heat exchanger. We could do this for helmets, gloves, and other safety gear as well.

Liquid Cooling Garments are already used in space gear and some professional settings. Usually here, PU tubes circulate water close to the body. This is circulated to a vent or cooling unit. Commercial versions of these have Peltier plates in areas such as the neck to aid cooling. These are electronic cooling plates that use the temperature gradient to cool. We could perhaps make some housing components for this.

What is also possible is to make some kind of ridiculously inefficient elastomeric Sterling engine to generate heat into fan movement to blow underneath the vest. Shape memory materials could also make heat exchangers for use close to the body, although work on these seems to be more industrial now. Generally however, I think we could make a better cooling vest for plate carriers, but also develop better cooling solutions for safety helmets, gloves, hearing protection, and more.

This is potentially a high-value application that could initially be funded through high-end implementations for soldiers, pilots, and the like. Later, the technology could scale to the millions of construction workers, policemen, and other people that need to be outdoors when it’s hot.