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

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发一种新型的具有成本效益的3D打印工艺来制造鞋子。目前，鞋子通常在海外大规模制造，使用不能最佳地满足个人需求的固定模具。鞋子的3D打印提供了提供个性化定制的承诺，不仅适合，风格和颜色，而且适合个人生物力学和医疗需求，后者在大规模制造的鞋子中很难满足。然而，要使鞋子的3D打印具有足够的成本效益，使其能够提供给不仅仅是少数几个人，还存在许多技术挑战。该项目开发了一种新颖且具有成本效益的3D打印工艺，使用现成且可回收的热塑性颗粒来制造鞋子组件。这种新颖的3D打印工艺将能够制造出任何其他制造工艺都无法制造的新型创新鞋款设计。此外，它将使大规模定制鞋成为现实，为许多人提供健康的定制鞋。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，创造税收收入，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颖的3D打印技术，用于打印弹性体材料的专有混合物，该材料是根据提议者多年来发表的鞋类生物力学效应研究而开发的。提出的主要创新是一种基于微型塑化螺杆的挤出机，该挤出机可靠且一致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，后者以前从未进行过3D打印。以前的尝试使用一个简单的螺旋钻，而不是一个真正的塑化螺杆产生不一致和不可靠的结果。其目标是开发一种可靠的小型化螺杆挤出机，集成到一个专门构造的3D打印机中，其尺寸可以制作一双鞋，从而通过料斗输送颗粒。挤出机-打印机的设计将基于挤出弹性体类型材料的独特经验，并将在特殊仪器化的3D打印机中进行可靠性和一致性评估。这项技术如果成功，将允许一种新的制造过程，其中一组3D打印机同时运行，每个打印机都可以生产自己的定制鞋和/或鞋部件。该系统将提供具有成本效益的鞋类解决方案的潜力，该解决方案不仅可以定制，而且可以满足个人的特定生物力学和医疗需求。此外，它还将允许根据提议者的研究创建新的健康设计，这些设计无法通过任何其他制造过程进行。

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.