Meet adidas 4DFWD: The All New 3D Printed Shoe from adidas

After years of combining athlete data with unique 3D printing technology, adidas has arrived at the “next step in data driven 3D printed midsole innovation,” with an all new running experience – adidas 4DFWD. Partnering with Carbon, development of the 3D lattice midsole technology took four years. This combination of athlete data and Carbon’s Digital Light SynthesisTM technology has enabled the companies to produce precision tuned 3D printed midsoles.

adidas 4D footwear is one of the world’s first to use this cutting-edge technology. Thanks to which, the team were able to fine tune the shoe’s midsoles to specific patterns of movement, meaning that athletes can enjoy precision performance with every step. Sam Handy, VP Design, adidas Running comments, “4D technology provides us with the opportunity to design in a way that conventional foam midsoles do not allow. We took inspiration from the first generation 4D lattice midsole and set ourselves the challenge to take it to the next level. Coding millions of potential lattice structures to see if we could specifically design to counter negative mechanical forces experienced during running.”

adidas 4DFWD lattice midsole resulted from this process. The bowtie-shaped FWD CELL was identified from one of five million possible lattice structures and made of 40% bio-based material. It was specifically coded to compress forward upon vertical impact. adidas 4DFWD generates three times as much forward motion under vertical loading in mechanical testing conditions, in comparison to previous generations of the shoe. Accordingly, the athlete experiences a peak braking force reduced by 15%. This is because the midsole redirects these vertical impact forces into horizontal forward motion, thus delivering a running economy matching the level of the Ultraboost midsoles in lab conditions.