The springiness of foam is a material property employed for padding in protective helmets. But could a better, more precisely engineered springiness — that is, more carefully controlled compliance, elasticity and resilience — be achieved through geometry instead? The engineering firm General Lattice is realizing this possibility. The company is developing expertise in what it terms “digital materials”: engineered lattice forms made with various polymer 3D printing processes to realize specific mechanical properties that otherwise might be inherent to the material. One promising application is padding for helmets. To serve this need, General Lattice tailors lattice forms to the type of protection the helmet has to provide, whether that is for safety against a collision or against more concentrated impacts. Meanwhile, padding made via 3D printing in this way can also be customized to the wearer by designing from a scan of the head. We experienced this with digital-material helmet padding that was made from our personal scan data. Watch this episode of The Cool Parts Show to see, among other things, Pete and Stephanie getting their heads examined.

This episode of The Cool Parts Show brought to you by Carpenter Additive. https://www.carpenteradditive.com/

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For All Access members: General Lattice’s Marek Moffett discusses designing lattice objects so outer surfaces are smooth. Watch at https://www.thecoolpartsshow.com/alla...

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LEARN MORE ABOUT

Design and engineering firm General Lattice and its Frontier platform:
https://www.generallattice.com/ | https://www.additivemanufacturing.med...

3D printed lattices replacing foam (from AM Radio podcast):
https://www.additivemanufacturing.med...

3D printing for insoles customized to individual feet:
https://www.additivemanufacturing.med...

X-ray view of lattices within a 3D printed shoe:
https://www.additivemanufacturing.med...

The unexplored frontiers of lattice fabrication:
https://www.additivemanufacturing.med...

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