The 3D-printed custom-fitted helmet lining may become the new norm in sports.
Every year, almost four million sports and recreation-related concussions are reported in North America alone. A slew of premature retirements amongst elite players over the past few decades have drawn attention to the short-term and long-term effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other head injuries. While emphasis has been placed on limiting injury, the end goal for many sports gear manufacturers is to combine safety with better performance.
Canada Cycle and Motor Company (CCM) has partnered with Montreal-based Shapeshift 3D to make 3D-printed hockey helmet liners that will be commercially available not just for athletes, but for the general public too. By incorporating the versatile design freedom of 3D printing, these helmet liners are custom-fitted to protect the wearer whilst offering maximum comfort and functionality.
“CCM is proud to partner with such an innovative company for the improved processing of the design of our Super Tacks X hockey helmet liner,” said CCM Chief Product Officer, Jeff Dalzell. “We chose Shapeshift 3D to allow us to bring the custom-fit process used at the elite level to the masses. We were looking for a partner to help with the strong demand and work on an optimized, automated process.”
A 3D-Printed Liner That Does More Than Ordinary Foam
In 2020, CCM partnered with Carbon to create their elite-level custom helmet, the Super Tacks X. The helmet features an NHL-certified hockey helmet liner that replaces traditional foam lining. CCM’s lining features the next evolution sense technology (NEST) where the lining is comprised of over 130,000 dampening struts arranged as a lattice. Compared to traditional foam lining, lattice structures are extremely comfortable, lightweight and promote ample airflow for breathability.
This lattice is designed using the Carbon Design Engine, a solution that uses Carbon’s extensive list of lattice parameters to gauge the optimal geometry of the lattice with respect to the material’s properties and the mechanical response that is required. In the case of the Super Tacks X, the lattice is specially designed to absorb and deflect impact from a variety of angles. Depending on the lattice’s location on the helmet, certain areas are reinforced with denser lattices, and also incorporate D30 smart foam for extra protection.
Once the part is fully designed, the lattice is printed by Carbon’s L1 3D printer, which caters to mass production demands in additive manufacturing. The L1 3D printer has been used to print high-performance parts for several renowned sports companies such as Adidas, Riddel and Specialized. As lattices require less material for production, the 3D printing process itself is considerably faster.
Like all Carbon printers, the L1 utilizes the digital light synthesis (DLS) 3D printing technology. Put simply, DLS involves flashing structured UV light at a pool of photocurable polymer resin to continuously print parts. This process is known for its ability to print intricate, isotropic geometries in a relatively short amount of time.
The Opportunity Cost of Custom 3D Design
Unfortunately for CCM, the amount of time, energy and resources it took to creating personalized liners for the wider audience proved impractical. For the Super Tacks X to be a commercial success, CCM sought the help of Shapeshift 3D in an effort to automate the customization process. The goal of this partnership was to acquire the freedom of 3D design coupled with a mass customization potential.
Shapeshift 3D provides scalable, integrated software solutions that specialize in wearable technology and parts. These parts range from respiratory face masks, orthotics, prostheses and sports equipment. The patent-pending software is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to digitize and streamline the 3D design of customized, optimized wearables in a way that allows mass production.
“Shapeshift 3D is a comprehensive software solution that supports the entire digital value chain, from initial scanning to additive manufacturing, while ensuring that the resulting product meets manufacturing, functional and performance standards without imposing any design constraints,” explained Shapeshift 3D’s CEO, Jonathan Borduas. “Our software is devoted to democratizing mass customization—in other words, the manufacturing of custom-fitted products at mass-production efficiency. Our solution enables an easy, efficient and repeatable scan-fit-print process for the most complex applications. It reduces order-processing time from hours to minutes, and it essentially removes the risk of do-overs.”
Shapeshift 3D’s design software eschews CAD, which Borduas considers complicated and time-consuming due to its parameterization. Instead, Shapeshift 3D’s cloud-based software employs machine learning and its suite of algorithms to automatically align a product’s 3D template to the scan of a customer’s body part. This automation ensures that the product is a perfect fit for the body part in terms of comfort and function. Just as importantly, automating this process renders it time-efficient and scalable.
“Through smart shape topology recognition, our software can also integrate an entire catalog of styles and models seamlessly and automatically, in hours instead of the months and even years required by current, non-automated processes,” said Borduas. “Our high-level modeling language enables product customization at scale, in the same price range as their mass-produced counterparts. This solves the high production costs, variable quality, labor intensity and non-replicability problems of existing custom production solutions. This allows for cost and time efficiency and high scalability as everything can run on the cloud from anywhere in the world.”
Generating Mass Appeal for Custom 3D-Printed Helmets
The Super Tacks X will be available to the general public in small, medium and large sizes. These helmets are adjustable and come with a variety of color customization. Elite athletes, however, can request the fully customizable options where a 3D scan of their head will be taken and—using Shapeshift 3D’s software—the lining will be morphed accordingly.
“We truly think that Shapeshift 3D will help us achieve our commercial vision to bring this revolutionary product to as many players as possible globally,” said Dalzell.
For more information on Super Tacks X or to order them, click here.