The 3aDitional + project seeks to address the lack of qualified personnel regarding new technologies, like additive manufacturing, in three traditional sectors: footwear, toys and jewellery.
Footwear Sector
Additive manufacturing represents a disruptive innovation in the footwear industry, which has traditionally been characterized by manual processes and a slow adoption of advanced technologies. This technology, based on layer-by-layer production from digital models, opens new possibilities in terms of design, customization, and competitiveness.
One of its main advantages is its flexibility, allowing the creation of complex shapes and the integration of advanced functionalities that would be difficult or impossible to achieve using conventional manufacturing methods. It also enables mass customization, waste reduction, and the use of recycled or bio-based materials, aligning with the principles of the circular economy.
In the footwear sector, additive manufacturing is used both in prototype development and in the production of functional components. Examples include molds, complete shoes, soles, insoles, toe caps, heel pads, shanks, and accessories.
Despite its great potential, the adoption of this technology is still limited by several barriers, such as production times, high material costs, lack of standardization, and limited workforce training in the use of these technologies. Nevertheless, additive manufacturing is emerging as a key tool for transforming the sector, enabling more agile and sustainable business models and providing competitive advantages in a market increasingly focused on differentiation, customization, and speed to market.
Toys and children’s products
Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is transforming the toy sector by offering unparalleled creativity, speed, and customization during prototyping. Designers can quickly produce and test figures, mechanical parts, connectors, and casings. This enables them to explore complex geometries that traditional moulding can’t achieve before moving to mass production.
This rapid iteration not only reduces development time and costs but also enables early concept validation of size, fit, aesthetics, and function. As a result, toy companies become more agile and responsive to trends, consumer feedback, and opportunities for personalized or small-batch runs. Today, large-scale production of toys is dominated by injection moulding. Here, additive manufacturing has the potential to improve these processes or to complement them by accelerating innovation, e.g. enabling short-run manufacturing for limited editions, collector’s items, or educational toys. As additive technologies continue to evolve, their role in toy development is expected to grow, not only for prototyping but also in producing final parts, moulds, or even custom play experiences tailored to individual users.
Jewellery Sector
In recent years, the fashion sector has been evolving. Modern jewellery no longer considers only precious materials. Jewellery become an occasion to discover new materials and designs that simultaneously express compositional harmony and personal stories.
New techniques must be evaluated aside from traditional ones to produce new designs usually characterised by complex shapes. Among these, Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies can guarantee many advantages.
The advent of AM has brought a deep transformation to the jewellery design industry, offering designers unprecedented creative freedom. Where traditional methods often struggle with intricate details and complex geometries, AM excels, enabling the creation of highly detailed, interlocking structures that were previously impossible. Designers can now translate digital concepts into tangible, wearable art using advanced materials such as metals, polymers, and composites both for prototypes or final parts. This technology also facilitates the customisation of jewellery, allowing for personalised designs, intricate patterns, and organic forms tailored to individual preferences with remarkable precision.
Beyond creative freedom, AM offers practical advantages, particularly in producing lightweight pieces. Using lattice structures or hollow components ensures that jewellery remains comfortable to wear without sacrificing its aesthetic appeal. Moreover, it can also deliver high-quality results at a relatively low cost and it aligns with sustainable practices by minimising waste.