AI Summary
How 3D Printed Shoes Are Actually Made
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Key Quotes
« we have 190 printers uh printing pairs right now as you will see we have lots of Engineers we are now 40 people here and um we have no marketing no sales it's all engineers »
Cornelius explaining the factory setup at Zeld
« you can upload a 3D model of a shoe and basically order a sample on the spot usually I don't know in Adidas or Nike usually they need hundreds of thousands of dollars and 12 to 18 months to get to that step and here it's like you make a 3D model it gets automatically checked in half a minute and then you can order a sample on the spot and few days later it lands on your doorstep and that is pretty revolutionary »
Cornelius explaining the speed and efficiency of Zeld's design and sampling process compared to traditional brands.
« the way zeld works is kind of similar to YouTube where you have content creators and then people that watch the videos just in the same way that anyone can upload a YouTube video and create content anyone can upload a design of a shoe and sell it »
Cornelius drawing a parallel between Zeld's platform and YouTube to explain its accessibility for creators.
« we had to engineer them build them all of that stuff and we assemble them here now we have over 200 printers they were all built here in our small assembly line »
Cornelius discussing the in-house development and manufacturing of Zeld's 3D printers.
« basically take the 150 to 200 production steps of a conventional shoe and squeeze them into three steps only so for example like with a normal shoe glowing the bits on sewing the so and stuff like that yeah you'll get a couple of parts and then you can check all the different parts and only glue them together if they are good right so the steps are printing yeah washing the support off okay and drying the shoe basically »
Cornelius explaining the simplified production process of 3D printed shoes at Zeld compared to traditional methods.
Resources mentioned in the video
company
Zeld
A company specializing in 3D printed footwear, aiming to revolutionize the sneaker industry with custom-fit and on-demand production.
person
Cornelius
Founder of Zeld, a company focused on futuristic 3D printed footwear.
person
Elon Musk
Mentioned as one of the prominent figures fascinated by Zeld's 3D printing technology.
person
Kanye West
Mentioned as a collaborator and someone who experienced Zeld's rapid prototyping capabilities for footwear.
brand
Moncler
Luxury fashion brand mentioned as having collaborated with Zeld.
person
Heron Preston
Designer mentioned as an early supporter and collaborator with Zeld.
person
Nathan F.
Described as a sneaker design legend who has worn Zeld shoes.
person
Kevin
An engineer at Zeld who moved from California to work on new printer designs and CNC machining.
Glossary
3D Printing
A process of creating three-dimensional objects layer by layer from a digital model, used by Zeld for footwear production.
Zeld Studio
The software platform provided by Zeld where users can upload 3D shoe models, check them for compatibility, and order samples.
A support material used in 3D printing that dissolves in water, allowing for complex geometries to be printed and easily cleaned.
The steps taken after 3D printing to finish the product, including washing off support material and drying, which Zeld has specifically engineered.
Computer Numerical Control machine used for precise manufacturing of parts, which Zeld uses to create components for their custom-built printers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Zeld is a company that produces 3D printed footwear. Their shoes are unique because they are custom-fitted to the wearer's exact foot measurements, produced on-demand with a revolutionary streamlined process, and offer a high degree of creative freedom for designers.
Zeld's process is significantly faster and more efficient. While traditional methods can take 12-18 months and require huge investments, Zeld can go from a 3D model to a sample in a matter of days, reducing the production steps from hundreds to just three: printing, washing, and drying.
Yes, Zeld's platform is designed to be as accessible as YouTube. Anyone can upload a shoe design, get a sample, and potentially sell it, earning royalties without needing experience or ties to large corporations.
The custom fitting is achieved through a process involving scans and images taken with a smartphone (like an iPhone), which capture precise measurements to create a shoe tailored to the user's exact foot.
The advantages include custom fit, reduced environmental impact due to on-demand production, faster design-to-market times, greater creative freedom for designers, and the potential for innovative materials and designs not possible with traditional manufacturing.
