AM Companies Collaborate With Wilson to Create First Airless Prototype Basketball

General Lattice, EOS and DyeMansion joined forces with Wilson Sporting Goods Co. to create the industry's first 3D printed airless basketball prototype. The group says this collaborative effort showcases the groundbreaking capabilities of additive manufacturing (AM) and highlights benefits of teamwork within the industry.

AM is said to provide unparalleled design freedom compared to traditional manufacturing methods and is transforming the sports industry through digital innovation. The three companies worked closely together, with General Lattice providing computational design services, EOS providing the 3D printing at its technical center, and DyeMansion providing postprocessing with its surfacing and coloring solutions.

GL Labs, General Lattice’s enterprise solutions team, worked with Wilson to bring to life its concept by streamlining the design and iteration process through the use of its computational design tools and workflows.

“The flexibility GL Labs and its tools provide enables customers to integrate data throughout the design process to reach optimal solutions faster,” says Nick Florek, General Lattice CEO.

Once the design was finalized, EOS 3D printed the Airless Prototype with an EOS P 396 using specialized materials.

“What Wilson is doing with its airless prototype is such a great technology showcase, demonstrating yet again how to achieve entirely new ideas with mature applications,” says David Krzeminski, Ph.D., senior consultant with Additive Minds at EOS. “We regularly see AM innovation in the business-to-business space, but lately innovative organizations like Wilson are getting creative and exploring how to leverage AM for prototyping and production, and mass customization products that give consumers exactly what they want in the products they purchase.”

DyeMansion added the finishing touches to create the smoothed finished surface and colorful outer skin by utilizing its VaporFuse Surfacing and DeepDye Coloring technology.

“With basketball being a ‘low equipment’ sport, changing the most critical element, the basketball, is no small venture,” says Lester Hitch, application consultant at DyeMansion North America. “It was the focus of our team in North America to fine-tune the vapor smoothing treatment, creating a consistent finish that matched Wilson team’s expectations based on experience making basketballs.”

Combining their respective areas of expertise, the collaboration between Wilson, General Lattice, EOS and DyeMansion illustrates the possibilities of additive manufacturing and computational design. This joint effort enables design innovation, turning ideas into reality like never before. 

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• Learn more about DyeMansion’s Powershot Performance Series which is designed for next-level blasting systems for postprocessing cleaning and surfacing.
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