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90 - Customised 3D printed cleats (football & soccer)
The start of a new series of sports brands
Bryan Roberts
August 07, 2023
Let’s talk about customised 3D printed soccer & football cleats.
Received this email from a colleague? 👩🏻👱🏼♂️👳🏽♀️👳🏾♂️👩🏿🦱
About 15 years ago, one of our colleagues was working with a large soccer boot brand to create 3D printed soccer cleats customized in size and shape for players in the Premier League. This was revolutionary at the time because 3D printing, as a technology, hadn’t matured to the point of being able to withstand the rigours of soccer (so there was a materials problem that needed solved), and 3D scanning technologies cost around $10k, so were a luxury for major sports brands and scientists.
RECENT BREAKTHROUGH
Roll the clock forward, and Imotana have just launched their second iteration of their custom 3D printed soccer boot, one of the first to establish an offering to amateurs given that professionals have had access to this technology for over 10+ years. Imotana were able to do this because:
All the necessary equipment to scan the foot is available in your pocket
3D printing materials are strong & durable enough for a few soccer seasons
Cost to produce both the boots & software have diminished to the point where customised soccer boots are now affordable commercially
IMOTANA
Imotana was founded by Benjamin Dorsch, an experienced soccer boot developer with over 7 years working for big brands. His vision was launched on Kickstarter back in 2021 to the successful tune of 1,126 backers pledging €150,151 to help bring this project to life.
Imotana offers two boots are far as we can tell:
However, since the boots are customised there are apparently 700,000 design & feature combinations:
Limitless design options and graphics (Camouflage, country flags, etc.)
Tailor-made fit according to a 3D scan of your feet
Soles for different surfaces like firm ground/artificial gras (FG) or soft ground/natural gras (SG)
Sock types like classic low sock or innovative high sock
THE PROCESS
Scan your feet with an app at home
Select features & colourways
Imotana extract the measurements & use them to design a new boot
Make sole unit in 3D printer
Finish boot with an upper or additional features as required
When broken down it seems pretty simple, but is in fact terribly hard to create a business. Given the blend of expertise needed in 3D imaging, app development, 3D printing, footwear design, branding, sponsorship, logistics and infrastructure.
Price: 199 Euro
Numbers supplied: 6000+ wearers
Turnaround time: 6 to 8 weeks
LET’S TALK SPORTS TECHNOLOGY
Imotana are smashing it. They have got the right process at the right time.
They clearly know soccer boot design. Simply looking at their website and you would miss a lot of tiny decisions made to make the boot great. We help break that down:
Firstly, a modular soccer boot design. This is very clever. We have seen a lot of soccer boot companies try to 3D print the whole boot, but this ignores the function of each individual part. For example, one major function of the upper is protection (and therefore the health of the foot). This requires breathability, flexibility & conformability, all of which are too challenging for commercially available 3D printed materials, particularly when style is added.
Second is a customisable form based on a popular boot shape. Not only have Imotana chosen to “replicate” modern Nike and adidas designs, they have added functionality by offering pretty much unlimited creative design. The upside, is the ability to offer a boot similar to your favourite pair, team or player’s style. The downside is, in general, the public can’t be bothered. Either way, by basing the foundations on a popular boot design rather than creating a new silhouette is genius (and hard to do for creative people).
Third, the cleats can be changed. Too many times we have seen fully 3D printed studs breaking in-play. A disaster for your brand and customer. With boots at such a high-price, it is worth adding this extra manufacturing process to prevent derailing the brand because of a few broken studs at the start of the business.
Fourth, the weight saving. One of the major unspoken factors in soccer boot design is weight. Overweight, i.e. heavy boots, are noticeably annoying and uncomfortable. Lightweight is great (as long as they don’t feel flimsy), but Rightweight is perfect. 200g - absolutely spot on.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE?
Imotana should continue to do what they do. Great idea, brilliantly executed.
Will they succeed? Well that is up to their marketing & sponsorship teams.
The cycling, rowing, American football, & golf industries (to name a few) should take note of Imotana, and move quickly into this market. Imotana have pioneered the framework, now it’s a marketing play.
Learn more here 👈🧠👀
OTHER BRANDS TO LOOK AT:
Check out tomorrow’s email for a list of customised 3D printed sneakers & shoe companies.
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