The Footballer needs protection for the head and face. For that, football equipment company Riddell and 3D printing and manufacturing firm Carbon comes up with better ideas. The pair will produce carbon 3D printed helmet liners. These will aim to take up contact and provide more protection for football players at all levels.
The customize liners will be made of an elastomeric lattice structure made from a custom resin material. Essentially, the liners are designed to resume its original form after experiencing an impact that changes its shape.
Carbon 3D printed Football Helmet!
They will be customizable and designed to perfectly fit an athlete’s head, providing more personalized protection inside their helmet. In the beginning, the liner will only be available for the Riddell SpeedFlex Precision Diamond helmet.
Carbon says the pads were created by analyzing data from more than five million on-field collisions collected by Riddell smart helmets. Currently the L1 Digital Light Synthesis system is already in the hands of Adidas and Riddell. Adidas has been using the new machines to help produce 100,000 pairs of the Futurecraft 4D midsoles in 2018, and plans to scale the production of the Futurecraft 4D shoes to millions in the coming years. Meanwhile, new customer Riddell is using it to 3D print customized helmet liners within its SpeedFlex Precision Diamond helmet model, used by select NFL players in the 2018 season.
According to the companies, the industrial 3D printing machine offers 10 times the build area of the company’s previous printer. It means it should be able to keep up with the demands for new helmet liners.
The new technology arrives as the health impacts of football are receiving stronger examination. The repetitive nature of football hits has been tied to a number of unfortunate side effects. The customized helmets will be made available for pro and college level athletes later this year. They’ll be printed using the L1, a newly announced printer designed for manufacturing that brings the company’s Digital Light Synthesis technology to a larger scale.
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