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3D Printing Custom Shoe Sole
A mode due to the effects of the magnitude and time of
impact force on the shoe midsole.
It is an undeniable that denser infill patterns supply
stronger support to a fabrication to absorb more energy
or less the crushing. However, they consume more
printing time, energy, material, and subsequent waste.
Therefore, this method of customizing the shoe midsole
in terms of individual’s specifications but using the
B same amount of materials is efficiency in the reduction
of material usage and time of 3D printing. This study
proves the feasibility of an adaptive infill patterns
application in stiffness and damping tuning required in
custom shoes industry. Further clinical and experimental
measurements are required as future directions.

4. Conclusions
C In this work, various shoe midsoles were designed by
considering different activities of person, such as walking,
running, and jumping, and for this trend, a 3D printable
viscoelastic material was selected and subjected to low
velocity impact test that resulted in a graph of load over time.
This load versus time graph gives the idea about how shoe
midsole is helpful to reduce the plantar pressure on people
based on their specific activity. The novelty of the present
study compared to other currently commercial models is
investigation of functional customization that does more
Figure 10. (A-C) Strain energy comparisons. than just geometry consideration with incorporating the
A viscoelastic material properties into performance evaluation
for specific user need. The models with different thicknesses
and materials were not considered here and our focus was
merely on the interior pattern of 3D-printed midsoles that
delivers various functionalities with considerations on cost
reduction and the use of a common 3D printer and a single
material. The study proved that the 3D printing is effective
in making a midsole that caters to requirements of different
B individuals based on the infill patterns design. This study
brings new innovation into customized 3D-printed shoes
industries by providing these meaningful insights into the
design process.
The results of this study also provide scope of using
combination of lattice structure to increase the energy
absorption capacity or elasticity, or providing more local
support and comfort as per individual requirements, such
as diabetic injuries or sports. The midsoles could see
C evolving improvements through 4D printing that redirects
these vertical impact forces into horizontal forward
motion, thus delivering a running economy or varying
the stiffness to serve at various environmental conditions,
such as different relative humidities and temperatures.

Acknowledgments
The work was supported by Faculty of Science,
Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University,
Figure 11. (A-C) Energy dissipation due to viscosity comparisons. Australia.
176 International Journal of Bioprinting (2021)–Volume 7, Issue 4