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Belgian eyewear brand Odette Lunettes has leveraged 3D printing technology to develop a new eyewear collection in collaboration with Materialise and former cycling world champion Tom Boonen.
The new Odette Lunettes X Tom Boonen eyewear products are unisex, available in two sizes and three colours, and produced with BASF’s 100% biobased Ultrasint PA11 material, which is the latest addition to Materialise’s eyewear materials portfolio. PA11 also boasts flexibility, impact resistance and is capable of enabling lightweight parts – all favourable properties for eyewear brands.
Odette Lunettes turned to 3D printing technology because it is ‘ideal to create a technical sports frame without compromising on the design we had in mind,’ and also would enable a product that addressed some of the fashion industry’s sustainability challenges. In the traditional manufacture of an eyewear product, around 70% of the acetate used in the frames can end up being wasted, while a fast fashion culture can also result in 20-30% of unsold stock.
Harnessing 3D printing technology, Odette Lunettes has been able to utilise the Ultrasint PA11 - which is based on Arkema Rilsan Polyamide 11 and is responsibly sourced from castor beans - and print parts on-demand in small series runs.
“With 3D printing, the waste-minimising nature of the additive process already offers clear environmental and economic benefits,” commented Alireza Parandian, Business Development Director at Materialise. “Using a material like PA11 has the potential to magnify these advantages.
“With its speed, flexibility and digital-first DNA, 3D printing provides a radical competitive advantage for eyewear brands. It empowers start-ups, supports new business opportunities and allows companies of all sizes to create new designs, test market appetite and scale-up production with minimum risk. By generating less waste and consuming minimum energy across the supply chain, 3D printing also offers greener credentials, something that increasingly influences today’s consumer choice.”
The partnership with Odette Lunettes represents the latest Materialise activity in the eyewear space. Among the company's other collaborators in the field are HOYA, Hoet Design Studio, Safilo, and Ditto.
