Rik Olthuis Design

The last 3D print looked to have too much elements going on and so to explore the sole concept i thought it would be best to print the parts separately and see how they act as a sole.

As shown the sole pieces are individual printed and connected with small arches, this helps them move while also latching onto the bio foam once poured on top.

I set up a new print on mondau of a full scale sole that combined3 concepts; individial sole pieces, a raised voronoi edge and the toe and heel cups. This was the result…

The support on TPU is difficult to remove and this took a lot of time. The heel cup was well sized and fitted my classmates foot well however the toe needs some adjustment to be wider and also have the toe brim raised a lot more.

I had some ideas the involved the sole of the shoe spreading at the dges and possibly coming up the sides for a mor eorganic look. This was my thinking…

I began working on concepts that work with this visual aesthetic. Getting ready for 3D printing.

I also saw this as an opportunity to test out printing a heel and tow cup attached to the sole to help with attaching the fabric upper.

 

During this week the FabLab was closed, this meant i couldn’t do any 3D printing. I took this as a time to model my concepts in Rhino and to try further my grasshopper practice.

After playing around for a while i was finally able to get a 3D voronoi to fill in a custom sole shape that I created.   I was able to pull some renders of how these concepts developed. I am able to change the density of the voronoi and also control the thickness. However when exporting to rhino the structure still is made of thousands of seperate polysurfaces meaning it will need more work if i wish to 3D print these models.

 

Showing a range of voronoi structures with foam poured inside. Next i will be using grasshopper along with digital scans of foot pressure and attempt to match the density of voronoi to the high areas of force exerted by the foot.

This is an example where i manually add in points around the foot that directs the voronoi structure away from these areas in 2D.

 

Exploring a range of stitch edges on 3D printed rails.

The first print failed as the print was too quick and couldn’t catch all the details.

After fixing the printing issue I printed multiple rails showing how fabric can be stitched on in different ways. From the earlier test i thought the 3D print provides a clean finished stitch and this would look best if on both sides of the materials.

Testing out how a 3D printed edge edge with stitching holes could work to stitch on an upper. The edge also has an attached heel cup and toe box.

Making and attaching the upper.

Result.

The 3D printed edge creates a clean lining, maybe this shoe be on the outside of the upper. The heel and toe lining work well and could be thicker but there is also a possibility to stitch the upper onto these parts too. The upper is still difficult to measure and not get any pulling or folding, maybe it would be worthwhile trying to use a last of finding open source stamps.

Nervous System

My tutor suggested I look into the company ‘Nervous System’ that creates jewellery. I searched their website and discovered that they have done many projects using organic calculated structures including a project in 2015 with New Balance creating sneaker soles with calculated forms.

The work looks amazing and is similar to something I aim to make.

State of the Play Exhibition

An exhibition set up to show the progression of my project to date.

The exhibit contained:

5 A3 panels all showing the development of the design of the shoe.

4 different density foams that I developed, viewers were invited to squeeze gently.

A few of the 3D printed structures for the sole, some filled with foam.

A range of upper samples with a hand woven upper, some digital embroidery and 3D printing onto fabric tests.

The concept shoe of a ribbon wrapping the foot to form an upper.

And the first full scale shoe model featuring the flexible 3D printed sole, foam midsole and cork insole threaded onto a canvas upper.

One concept I have always been curious to try but couldn’t figure out how to mock up, I finally thought I could combine lazer cut MDF with a ribbon to wrap the foot completely to form an upper. The result was an upper that wrapped the front foot well but became difficult behind the heel and caused difficult folds and wraps.

Upper Details

Intro into digital embroidery

Embroidery works to keep the edges of the fabric in tact around areas such as the lacing holes, this can also be used to outline the tongue as well as any other details.

Intro into 3D printing onto fabrics

3D printing works in the same way as embroidery to keep the lace hole clean but it works to link the upper with the sole. It connects the modern technology between the fabric and the foam.