Exploring the Potential Impact of 3D Printing on the Footwear Industry

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Abstract
The foremost determination of this paper is to focus on the potential impact of 3D
printing on the footwear industry. The paper will be having numerous units, the first
unit will be researching the topic, followed by the brainstorming process considering
the impact of the chosen technology and its application in the other industries as well.
The ethics and regulations of the technology and the disruption of 3D printing will be
also stated in the paper. The paper will be concluding with a video plan and a video
describing the impact of 3D printing on the footwear industry.

Table of Contents
Part one – Research......................................................................................................................................................... 3
3D Printing Technology............................................................................................................................................... 3
Industry......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Part two – Brainstorming................................................................................................................................................. 3
Impact 1: Impact of 3D printing technology in the footwear industry......................................................................3
Impact 2: Parallels to other industries........................................................................................................................ 3
Impact 3: Other technologies which can be applied in the footwear industry........................................................3
Part three – Regulation and Ethics................................................................................................................................. 3
Market............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Law................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Physical......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Ethical............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Part four – Disruption....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Process Impacted......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Process Factors............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Events........................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Activities or Tasks.................................................................................................................................................... 4
Decision points......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Actors (people and/or objects)................................................................................................................................ 4
Outcomes.................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Process Description..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Process model diagrams............................................................................................................................................. 5
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Part five – Video plan (optional)...................................................................................................................................... 6
References........................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Part one – Research
3D Printing Technology
The three-dimensional printing technology is defined as the type of technology in which
various categories of material are either solidified, fused together or joined layer by layer with the
help of quality computer control for the creation of the three-dimensional object (Weller, Kleer &
Piller, 2015). Various categories of 3D printing processes are used in the latest industries such as
the material jetting, binder jetting, power bed fusion, material extrusion and sheet lamination.
Computer based design models are actively used in 3D printing technology. Most of the
manufacturing industries use 3D printing technology in their working environment.
Industry
Footwear industry is defined as the type of industry which helps its consumers to deal with
adverse environmental conditions, ground conditions and temperature of the location (Attaran,
2017). Fashion garments such as the shoes, socks and stockings. Consumers of footwear industry
of different locations have different needs and requirements which can be fulfilled with the help of
the products obtained from the footwear industry which uses 3D printing technology.
Part two – Brainstorming
Impact 1: Impact of 3D printing technology in the footwear industry
The role of the stakeholders who are actively working in the production unit of the footwear
technology are hugely benefitted from the application of 3D printing technology (Rogers, Braziotis &
Pawar, 2017). New business opportunities and more creative designs can be made with the help of
this technology. The products of this industry can now be entirely customised with the help of this
technology. It can be said that the application of this technology has led to the growth and progress
of this industry to a significant extent.
Impact 2: Parallels to other industries
The advanced specification of 3D printing technology has led to the growth and progress of
numerous manufacturing industries such as the cloud based manufacturing industry, research
industries, food industry, medical industry, automobile industry, construction industry, art and
jewellery industry. The specifications of this technology is improving each day which is the main
reason behind the wider application of this industry.
Impact 3: Other technologies which can be applied in the footwear
industry
The production of the footwear industry over the years has improved a lot with the
application of wide range of technologies (Attaran, 2017). The different categories of technology
used in the footwear technology are sensor technology, footwear Internet of Things devices, bio
technology materials and lase cutting technology. The application of the above discussed
technologies and 3D printing technology.
Part three – Regulation and Ethics
The regulations and regulations of 3D printing technology will be evaluated on the basis of
the Lessig’s four categories such as the norms, architecture, law and market (Sun & Zhao, 2017). The
application of the advanced specifications of 3D printing technology on the footwear technology will
be evaluated on the basis of the four categories of Lessig’s in this paper. The prime advantages or
the potential impact of 3D printing technology on the footwear industry are as followings:
o User centric customised products are readily available in this industry with the help
of 3D printing technology (Lifset, 2017). New and fresh concepts which are trending in
the market can be understood by the management teams of the footwear industry.