3D Software

Delcam Looks at the Software Side of 3D Printed Insoles

The 3D printed foot race is heating up this year and the most recent runner to join it is CAD/CAM developer Delcam. Unlike other companies getting involved with 3D printed shoes and orthotics, Delcam’s angle is on the software side of things, applying their CAD/CAM programs to the field of 3D printed insoles.

Delcam 3D Printed InsolesThe company began looking into 3D printed orthotics in 2010, when they teamed up with the founder of the RepRap movement, Adrian Bowyer, to 3D print PLA insoles on a RepRap 3D printer. Since then, Delcam has been working to export the surface data from their OrthoMODEL orthotics software to their artistic CAD/CAM modeling program, ArtCAM, to design specialty insoles. A recent OrthoMODEL upgrade allows users to combine 2D images and pressure data to create 3D models that give a colorful picture of locations for pads and relief. To research how the combination of these two programs might best yield 3D printed orthotics, the company’s Healthcare team first created orthotic designs in OrthoMODEL. Next, they added features, like structural ribs for strength, textures and air holes for possible medical benefits, and aesthetically pleasing 3D reliefs in ArtCAM. The team then 3D printed the resultant models to understand how to better design a solution for additively manufacturing insoles.

Chris Lawrie, the company’s Healthcare Business Development Manager explains where he believes development needs to take place for the industry to take off, “In a world where waste reduction is increasingly on people’s agendas, AM certainly offers potential to be the ‘greener’ choice in the future. We are aware that machine prices are coming down, but the real change will come first from faster printing technologies and then from an increase in the choice of functional materials.”

Delcam plans to discuss their research into the mass customization of orthotics at the upcoming Orthotics Technology Forum in a The Netherlands on September 18th.

Source: Delcam