Timberland is 3D

By on May 15th, 2008 in blog

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Timberland, the makers of fine footwear had a problem. Their traditional product development process involved using 2D designs for 3D objects. That may sound crazy, but this is the way manufacturing has been done for a very long time. It’s only recently that 3D technology has begun displacing 2D techniques.

At Timberland the 2D-to-physical-model process was quite laborious, involving painstaking and tedious work by technicians to interpret the 2D designs accurately. Once the smoke cleared and a wood or foam model rested on the table, Timberland reckons the cost was approximately USD$1,200. And that’s per model, to say nothing of the turnaround time to get it completed.

Recently they acquired 3D modeling and printing technology (ZCorp & Spectrum) and have reduced their costs and time so much that their design process has fundamentally changed. Instead of “front-loading” the design, they now design and print “innumerable” models and test them vigorously in an effort to find the optimum design.

It’s not just faster; it’s better.

Via EurekaMagazine

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!

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