Stratasys are looking to shake up the eyewear market with a new material that they claim can produce glasses in under 8 weeks. The material is VeroFlex, a PolyJet rigid photopolymer. The company has made the photopolymer to go along with their Stratasys J750 3D Printer. The primary use of the material will be in modelling as opposed to functional goods.
This material could be a game-changer due to how much faster it is than the current production model. This could be game changer as companies employing this material could take two months to produce eyewear, while those still relying on traditional methods may take as long as 15 months. This type of high-speed production also allows for customisable options for consumers.
VeroFlex has been sufficiently tested. The material itself is a unique mix of flexible and strong. This allows the print to fulfil crucial criteria for prototyping. Various Veroflex colours (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, White, Black, and Clear) can be mixed to produce just about any desirable shade.
Mike Vasquez, founder and CEO at digital manufacturing consultancy 3Degrees put out a statement about how the company wishes to address customization, and growing addressable markets. The material will be on display at the TCT show in Birmingham. Currently, while the company has not provided a price, potential customers can acquire a quote via email.
Advantages of 3D Printing in Eyewear Production
Currently, this range of material solutions is not for final product manufacturing. While these VeroFlex materials are primarily for prototyping, they do present a crucial step forward. They speed up the process of designing substantially and allow for performance testing.
The main advantage they allow for is the speed. In upgrading the process of production companies also receive the perk of customisation. Potentially, companies could cater to customers needs on an individual and specialised basis.
Due to how quickly companies can reduce lag time between new models they can also stay on top of current trends. This is a crucial advantage in any fashion industry but has never been easy to do in eyewear.
Featured Image retrieved from Stratasys Website.
Leave a Reply