Rawlings Goes for a Home Run with New 3D-printed Baseball Gloves – Thomas Net
3D printing has evolved tremendously since the 1980s, and its applications have too. From manufacturing to hobbyist builds, 3D printing is now used in various ways to create, repair, or improve a plethora of items — even baseball gloves. Sporting goods manufacturer Rawlings has partnered with digital manufacturing company Fast Radius and 3D printing technology company Carbon, to develop 3D printed gloves for professional baseball players. Known as the “REV1X” series, the gloves are designed to “add stiffness in the regions where it is necessary and soften regions where a certain flexure is required,” according to TCT Magazine. But where did this need stem from?
- “…professional players frequently cite that their thumb and pinky pads tend to break down and become floppy over time…”
- This increases the risk of injury in the hand when “catching batted balls exceeding velocities of 100 miles per hour.”
- The REV1X glove solves for this by “providing players with longer-lasting thumb and pinky pads”
- More important, though, are the manufacturing implications – Rawlings 3D printing significantly expedites the manufacturing process.
- The implications of this are pretty massive, as evidenced by the many headlines this month related to 3D printing in CGPS manufacturing – as with Rawlings gloves – and beyond:
- Engineers Use 3D Printing to Speed Up Coral Reef Recovery
- 3D Printable “Eco-concrete” Lends Affordability to Housing
- U.S. Manufacturer Makes the Fastest Industrial 3D Printers in the World — by a Factor of About 20X
- 2 Companies Announce Plans to 3D Print Entire Texas Neighborhood
- Adidas, Nike Kick Their Supply Chain into High Gear with 3D Printing