SBIR Phase I: Pellet based 3D print extrusion process for shoe manufacturing

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发一种新的具有成本效益的3D打印工艺来制造鞋子。目前，鞋子是大规模生产的，通常是在海外，使用的固定模具不能最好地满足个人的需求。3D打印的鞋子提供了提供个性化定制的承诺，不仅是为了适应鞋子的合身、款式和颜色，而且是为了满足个人的生物力学和医疗需求，后者在大规模生产的鞋子中难以满足。然而，要使鞋子的3D打印具有足够的成本效益，不仅可以提供给少数几个人，还存在许多技术挑战。该项目开发了一种新的、具有成本效益的3D打印工艺，使用现成的、可回收的热塑性塑料颗粒来制造鞋子部件。这种新的3D打印工艺将使人们能够制造出任何其他制造工艺都无法制造的新的、创新的鞋子设计。此外，它还将使鞋子的大规模定制成为现实，为许多个人提供健康的可定制鞋子。与目前在海外进行的传统制造工艺不同，这种新型制造技术非常适合在美国当地实施。因此，该项目不仅有助于将制鞋业迁回美国，为税收创造收入，还将在制造业创造新的高科技就业机会。该项目开发了一种新的3D打印技术，用于打印一种弹性类型材料的专有混合物，该混合材料是根据提出者多年发表的关于鞋类生物力学效应的研究成果开发的。建议的主要创新是一种微型塑化螺杆挤出机，它可靠和持续地挤出包括泡沫在内的所有类型的弹性体材料，据我们所知，后者以前从未被3D打印过。以前的尝试使用简单的螺旋而不是真正的塑化螺丝，产生了不一致和不可靠的结果。我们的目标是开发一种可靠的小型化螺杆挤出机，集成到专门构造的3D打印机中，大小可以制成一双鞋，这样颗粒就可以通过料斗送入。挤出机-打印机的设计将基于挤出弹性材料类型的独特经验，并将在专门配备的3D打印机中进行可靠性和一致性评估。如果这项技术成功，将允许一种新颖的制造工艺，其中一组3D打印机同时运行，每一台都生产自己的定制鞋和/或鞋部件。该系统将提供一种成本效益高的鞋类解决方案的潜力，这种解决方案不仅适合个人，而且适合个人的特定生物力学和医疗需求。此外，它还将允许基于提出者的研究创造出新的健康设计，这是任何其他制造工艺都无法完成的。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at developing a novel cost-effective 3D printing process to manufacture shoes. Currently shoes are mass manufactured, typically overseas, using fixed molds that do not optimally meet the need of an individual. 3D printing of shoes offers the promise of providing individual customization tailored not just to fit, style, and colors, but to individual biomechanics and medical needs, the latter of which are being poorly met with mass manufactured shoes. However, a number of technical challenges exist to make 3D printing of shoes sufficiently cost-effective that it can be provided beyond just a select few individuals. This project develops a novel and cost-effective 3D printing process to manufacture components of shoes, using readily available and recyclable thermoplastic pellets. This novel 3D printing process will enable the manufacture of new, innovative shoe designs that cannot be made with any other manufacturing process. Additionally, it will make mass customization of shoes a reality, providing access to healthy customizable shoes for many individuals. Unlike traditional manufacturing processes currently being done overseas, this novel manufacturing technology is very amenable to implementing in the United States on a local level. Thus, this project will not only help move shoe manufacturing back to the United States, generating income for tax revenue, it will create new high-tech jobs in manufacturing. This project develops a novel 3D printing technology to print a proprietary mix of elastomeric type material developed based on years of published research of the biomechanical effects of footwear by the proposer. The primary innovation proposed is a miniature-sized plasticizing screw-based extruder that reliably and consistently extrudes all types of elastomeric type material including foam, the latter of which, to our knowledge, has never before been 3D printed. Previous attempts using a simple auger instead of a true plasticizing screw have produced inconsistent and unreliable results. The goal is to develop a reliable miniaturized screw-based extruder, integrated into a specially constructed 3D printer sized to make a pair of shoes, whereby pellets are fed through a hopper. The extruder-printer design will be based on unique experience in extruding elastomeric types of materials and will be evaluated for reliability and consistency in a specially instrumented 3D printer. This technology if successful, will allow for a novel manufacturing process where a bank of 3D printers operate simultaneously, each producing their own made-to-order pair of shoes and/or shoe components. This system will offer the potential for a cost-effective footwear solution that is customized not only to fit, but to an individual's specific biomechanical and medical needs. Additionally, it will allow for the creation of novel healthy designs based on the proposer's research that cannot be made with any other manufacturing process.