Image: MakerBot
Devices like the one above have the opportunity to change the world. Granted, they're a little ways off from where they need to be in order to do so, but great leaps are being made every day to get there. With each generation of machine, we're getting closer and closer to an unbelievable future. If you're still not quite sure what that is, it's a Makerbot Replicator, a 3D printer that is available for purchase by anyone willing to drop the cash. This device, and others like it print actual three-dimensional models using plastics. While this technology has implications for all kinds of applications, it could be an invaluable asset to wake-gear designers of the future if they're willing to adapt the technology once it matures.
Gear Design
Imagine this scenario. During an R&D session with the team, the riders give their designer some feedback on the new gear they're trying out that day, maybe a new binding tech similar the Hyperlite System. The riders want the binding frame tweaked a bit, it seems too firm and doesn't quite get them the range of motion needed to poke grabs the right way.Once everyone's off of the water the designer hits his laptop, makes the necessary tweaks in the CAD design and over-night a brand new custom pair of bindings are ready for the team to give a go the very next morning. Pretty cool right? It would help advance our gear in incredible ways, designers could do in a season what might take them 2-3 years of research and redesign in today's workflow. All because they can instantly prototype anything their minds create and develop the product exactly as the riders want it within hours of receiving the input.
Let's get even crazier. Imagine the same strategy is applied to an entire board. Granted, you'd need a much bigger printer, but the principle is still the same. The gear designer of the future could potentially have a mobile workshop in a trailer, making it easy to spend a week camping out at a cable park with the team. The first day out our designer passes out some boards he already made and are ready for testing. After a few hours, the riders can give feedback including anything from changing molded-in fins, the concave design, to even the flex pattern. Printing machines of the future can, in theory, print multiple materials, so all of this could be done on-site in hours. Let's take the flex pattern as an example. Maybe the designer wants to try and reduce the amount of flex in the tip/tail based on rider feedback. Well one way to handle it is to reduce the amount of flex core material the extends in to the ends of the board and replacing that with a stiffer material the next time he prints. After a few hours of letting the machine work its magic, a brand-spanking new and slightly stiffer board will be ready for the team to try.
Image: MakerBot
What About Now?
Well, 3D printing is a very long way off from the possibilities I mentioned above. But we're getting there. MakerBot for example, is releasing the "Replicator 2", their most precise printer ever. People are doing some pretty impressive things with the new technology. From making simple small models with no moving parts to even wind-up toys requiring multiple, somewhat precise, mechanical pieces that move; a lot of things are possible now. Someone, controversially, is even trying to make the first entirely 3D printed firearm with existing technology. The next big steps are making bigger, faster printers and increasing the material types that can be used. Nothing right now is strong enough to hold up to the extreme stresses wakeboarders and wakeskaters put their gear through so a lot of development would need to be done there. But once those things happen (I'm a believer of "when" and not "if" with this technology), and if designers are willing to keep up with the new methods, it could change wakeboarding forever.
Let's get even crazier. Imagine the same strategy is applied to an entire board. Granted, you'd need a much bigger printer, but the principle is still the same. The gear designer of the future could potentially have a mobile workshop in a trailer, making it easy to spend a week camping out at a cable park with the team. The first day out our designer passes out some boards he already made and are ready for testing. After a few hours, the riders can give feedback including anything from changing molded-in fins, the concave design, to even the flex pattern. Printing machines of the future can, in theory, print multiple materials, so all of this could be done on-site in hours. Let's take the flex pattern as an example. Maybe the designer wants to try and reduce the amount of flex in the tip/tail based on rider feedback. Well one way to handle it is to reduce the amount of flex core material the extends in to the ends of the board and replacing that with a stiffer material the next time he prints. After a few hours of letting the machine work its magic, a brand-spanking new and slightly stiffer board will be ready for the team to try.
Image: MakerBotWell, 3D printing is a very long way off from the possibilities I mentioned above. But we're getting there. MakerBot for example, is releasing the "Replicator 2", their most precise printer ever. People are doing some pretty impressive things with the new technology. From making simple small models with no moving parts to even wind-up toys requiring multiple, somewhat precise, mechanical pieces that move; a lot of things are possible now. Someone, controversially, is even trying to make the first entirely 3D printed firearm with existing technology. The next big steps are making bigger, faster printers and increasing the material types that can be used. Nothing right now is strong enough to hold up to the extreme stresses wakeboarders and wakeskaters put their gear through so a lot of development would need to be done there. But once those things happen (I'm a believer of "when" and not "if" with this technology), and if designers are willing to keep up with the new methods, it could change wakeboarding forever.
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