I Tried Running 10k in Custom 3D Printed Shoes 

As someone with experience designing and printing my own running shoes with cumulative ~50 miles on them at the end of my high school cross country season here is some advice. First of all, amazing! Congrats, be proud! Warning this is long You mentioned the stiffness and decreasing the thickness and infill. Observe on normal running shoes and most normal shoes the top and side of the foot only has a super thin extremely flexible cloth covering it. The same can be done when printing, I only use 2 walls for the top and side. When prototyping the entire shoes including the sole has two walls, it is more than strong enough, and much more flexible. The infill for the sole does have a break in period, also the infill can degrade with time. Different infill patterns behave differently. Grid 13% printed flat has shown no degradation in my experience, while cubic has significantly degraded. Generally if the infill has an overhang angle it prints at it is subject to degradation which unfortunate is a lot of patterns, while patterns like grid with no overhangs perform better. IDK if it is layer splitting, or soft spots and reshaping that developes more easily with overhangs. Another way to adjust the feeling of the sole stiffness/flexibility other than infill is increasing layer quantity on top the sole where the foot rests, more effectively spreading out your weight over a larger area allowing the feel to be sturdy while walking and soft while running, and it helps preserve the infill. It does require being comfortable and knowledgeable with your slicer to customize print setting in specific areas. (I only have used cura) The slit at the tongue is very very important. A connected full geometry will cause a crease while running that painfully dig into the top of your foot, along with a crease point that tears the layers creating a hole that will spread. This slit separating the two haves eliminate that problem and improves flexibility. Observe how other fully printed shoes that claim to be useable with connected top geometry has thick fluffy tops or intricate geometry. This is forced by addressing this creasing problem but masked by ‘fashion’. The heel rubbing is tricky, solved through iterative designs, smooth surface, and a lack of reliance on it. The front and laces are mainly used to secure the foot during physical activity, and it works well. The rest of the time the shoes are more or less slip ons. With the heel having little contact. Overall socks will be worn out quicker all around the foot as TPU is more abrasive than cloth, even with smooth walls, prototypes have caused rubbing on top my foot than required some adjustment time to be comfortable with, but this is not necessary with improved design and flexibility. What was not mentioned in the video but I’m sure you’ve observed was the bad traction on many surfaces indoors. For a running shoes on pavement it’s fine, but not for a daily driver. My shoes basically have wide cleats, and is the only way I have found to achieve good traction on all surfaces for a daily use. It does not impact comfort, it does make the shoes loud and comply on hard floors. It’s amazing in grass but defiantly not replacing basketball shoes on the court. Slightly off topic don’t print climbing shoes, they don’t work and rubber that can be applied is expensive. I am looking into options for applying a rubber layer on the normal shoes because that is apparently possible. My shoes I have crazy high standards for, (basically being a perfect polished product that could be sold as real competition) I want them to be water proof and this issues has been my biggest challenge. I have tried changing geometry, print orientation, wall thickness ect, and have come to terms with buying a more flexible filament 4x more expensive. This experiment is currently underway. I cannot speak much to breathability, as I am designing for waterproofness, regardless these are not shoes for people with sweaty feet, and the biggest holdback on large company’s mass printing the shoes, so far breathability needs fiber/thread printing to basically print a plastic cloth which is prohibitively expensive and complex. I also recommend trying to make the sole a separate piece that is inserted into a shell of the rest of the shoe. This primarily is useful for better print orientation by printing the sole flat with grid infill. It also allows faster prototyping of individual pieces and different material options. Flexible on the outside, standard cheaper TPU as the sole. IDK if bamboo is big enough for a flat print, that was my primary reason for not buying one when I first began this. The shoes I ran the 50 miles in frequently developed holes as mentioned, but I could patch it using a soldering iron to melt it back into shape. A soldering iorn is useful for modifications and experimention before a new print. These shoes are by far the most comfortable I have ever worn, granted they are custom fitted to my foot, and unfortunately I had to ‘retire’ them from so many experiments and patches that has made the plastic more brittle I self taught and designed the shoe in Fusion using its Forms environment, and using measurements from my insole. I have not posted the file as I don’t want copycats and I might take this somewhere if I get the shoe fully working, but I am more than happy to share experience and advice. For people asking about orthotics, I have also successfully created one for my parent using their insole as reference. Standard 95A TPU, completed in under a week barely using half a roll. I would love the opportunity to develop orthotics, prosthetics, and shoes using 3D printing more professionally but I don’t know the right contacts, and I am busy with college.

As someone who designs 3d printed shoes professionally, I have a lot of comments about your design and process Tpc or pebax is an ideal material to print with (they are expensive though), if there are not available then filaflex 95a foamy is a good filament When printing with a 0.4 nozzle, the upper should be printed with zigzag infill at approximately 45% and no walls. Laces need to be minimal, and the areas surrounding the lace holes as well as the regions that run from the sole to the lace holes need to be printed with 100% infill and 2 walls, these regions should be like striations on the side of the shoe. The sole should be printed with cubic infill at approximately 35%, and two walls. The outsole needs to be printed with a thin 2-3 mm sheet of 100% infill. A shank with similar characteristics to the outsole can be made, if possible this should be printed with a rigid material using a different extruder. The inside shape of your shoe needs to be iterated on several times using rigid prints to get the correct shape. Retopology tools in blender will help you.

I would highly suggest trying foaming TPU. It has additives that cause it to foam when heated above a certain temperature and allows it to be less dense while still filling the same space. It’s great for making hyper-flexible parts and could likely fix a lot of your issues. And because it’s still TPU it still has incredibly strong layer adhesion even when reduced to super low densities

maybe you could add a ring pillow cushion bubble type thing to the ankle/heel portion. should be easily printable , maybe a tear shaped that is revolved around the foothole. kinda like sonics shoes. awesome video!!

The unholy trinity of problem spots I run into on shoes are ankle rub, arch support, and toe width. Either I get crazy blisters on my ankle, a ton of strain on my arch, or my toes get jammed into the front of the shoe, which usually means I often have to go a size up but then it’s too big. I know I’d definitely benefit from getting nicer shoes but I’m too broke for nice things

Ref arches: stand on a box of damp sand the then scan footprint and get correct info? Laurie. NZ. 😊

love this! would love to see more videos of print projects etc, as im new in the world of 3D printing and love these types of videos

Awesome... Looks awesome. I will definitely buy those shoes. I was working on some sandals for my kids but life got in the way. You inspire me too get back on the Project.

OMG its ! ......... good job ! nice 3d printing. i just finished my 1st 3d printed unit. CC research footwear making a bit more, all them problems r ease fixed, most of them r problems with how you applied your mesherments & scans to the shoe.

This was such a cool project. Thanks for being us along for the journey!

very cool and was interesting seeing the changes you made to make them work.

Maybe there is a way to add a cow lick to the shoes. My Altras roll back in the heels to softer for the heels on the strike down. Maybe finding a way for them to curl back and curve could help with the heel.

Great video! I think the different colour shoes definitely added some horse power lol

This is definitely a nice video about how to use printer making shoes from the beginning. I'm kind of curious that how big is the shoe? I saw the maximum of the size on the printer is 25.6 x 25.6 x 25.6. It's a little bit small to let the foot in.

The possibilities for VR foot content are endless

could you try taking an imprint of your feet in a firm material like "impression foam" (biofoam or any no name or even floral arrangement foam) so you can get a better idea of the shape of your feet while you have you weight on them

I've been wanting to 3d print a shoe for a while but could never get the foot shape close. PLEASE share the stl so i can have a working base design!

I had a problem with teva sandals where the seam was on the back of the heel and would rub me wrong. Keen sandals solved that by having a strap around the heel instead of aso being attached to the sole behind the heel. this allowed the strap to move with my foot without rubbing as my foot moved in the sandal. huge difference for me. so... you could try something like that.. or consider the amount of padding some shoes have around the back of the heel just for this reason. the strap worked for me though. nice video! looking forward to seeing more! :-D

I think a 3 piece design with a separate shell, TPU sole, and TPU tongue would be a good improvement.

Been waiting years for this. 3D printed orthotics next.

My left and right arches are very different due to years of nursing an torn meniscus. So my running shoes either hurt my right foot or my left foot and never work for both. But I have a p1s and a revopoint mini, so maybe the end is near

I would like to see someone make a hybrid shoe, maybe like a normalish shoe with replaceable soles that way the shoes could last a lot longer and be comfortable

So what would you do to improve the heel next, since you were still getting blisters?

What 3D scanner would you suggest? Maybe 1 that is a reasonable price for what you get and 1 that is more professional but is more of a better price

I probably would not want to print my running shoes or work shoes, but for people with special requirements that have some medical condition or health issues, i see a future for affordable custom made to measure shoes. Doing some multi material experiments would be interesting too, maybe try to mix in a softer TPU for cushioning or flex zones. Never dug very deep into more advanced slicer control either, but maybe splitting the shoe model into several parts or components, so you can apply different wall and infill-settings for specific parts might give some interesting results, if thats possible.

any chance you will release the STL? i have been wanting to print a shoe for so long, but cannot find ant files, and no chance ill ever get a scanner haha.

Love it way to go

Ok, so I don't need to do it myself then. Good :-) Thanks for the vid.

3D PRINTED cycling shoes could be the future

Respect 😊 great video !

lmbo!!!! 😂🤣 you ever watch the movie the Man with one Red Shoe lol LOVE IT!!!

Foaming tpu? You’d have to print them flat in the plate I guess but you could make them denser in the soles and the tops could be lighter and more flexible than the tpu at the lower infill. I really want to try shoes!

Really interesting

Great Video!

I've been wanting to do something like this, but insoles.

I feel like these shoes should be used for front foot running

This is awesome but you need to make the shape of the top of the heel like a running shoe not a dress shoe. Look at the shape of the heels of your existing sneakers, they aren't straight across the top, it's usually like an 'M' with two soft peaks to spread force and a dip in the middle so it doesn't cut into your achillies.

FLINT LOCKWOOD

I'm going to 3d print a replacement sole for mt crocs now 😂

Cool!

Those companies can prototype every day without the added cost of 3d printing.

I didn't see your prior videos, but if you're scanning the bottom of your foot without compressing your foot, obviously it's going to measure your arch as taller than it is when you're standing.

Clearly, a mesh upper would be superior. Print it in two parts: 95A bottom half and something softer for the upper. Also doesn't need to be solid, it can be a lattice upper

You gotta send these to Rose Anvil for him to cut in half on youtube

Did you see Bambu just released a ai 3d modeler for free. Just need a 360° video of the object.

goddamn people will do anything but just 3d model a nice shoe.

You'd get a much better 3D scan if you made a cast of your foot with plaster first and scanned that

start selling 3D scans of feet for money on only feet 😂 could b big sauce

damn bruv your comments be poppin out here 🎉

Just order a pair from zellerfeld

try ninja flex on matter hackers .

They still look better than those yeezys or whatever they were called.

What does your podiatrist say?

You wouldnt pirate a shoe..

10k what? The k just stands for 1000. So you are saying you try to run 10 000. If you want to say kilometers the meters after the k is important. Thats the unit you are using.

Pcbway does a very poor job of 3d printing to spec.

you what to be nike engeneer with a fdm 3d printer? every single peace on nike shoe is a single project! a nike shoe need more than 100 pcs and alot manufacting to give to you the most confortable shoe! the engenering of nike dont need to scan your foot to fit perfect on your foot! this because evrey single peace on your nike are studied to give you confort not just a shoe! your work is great on 3d printing !but you don´t know how to do shoes!

The Creality channel video on their new Shanghai shop has a few slip on shoes in it…fyi….Laurie. NZ.