Sunday, October 26, 2008

An Examination of Raw Materials and Technology As Major Factors in Developmental Applications

Materials are fascinating. Fascinating because they possess the ability to alter or even invent an application or process. For instance, steel played an incredible role in the domination of massive Mesoamerican empires by only handfuls of conquistadors during the 1400s. Likewise, in 1907, Bakelite opened the door to plastics and polymers, thus revolutionizing the world in every aspect imaginable. With new synthetic composites and nano-materials, such as Graphene and Nehalem, areas such as medicine, weaponry, and consumer products continue to change and improve. A good micro model of this process of material exploration and application lies in shoes. Athletic shoes are particularly interesting because they blend science and technology with intriguing sculptural forms, requiring a variety of disciplines to collaborate and new processes to emerge.

A recent example of material exploration and application was behind the development of Nike’s Zoom Victory track spike (image above). Constructed specifically for athletes competing in the Beijing summer Olympic Games, the goal was to make the lightest pair of shoes in the world—a straightforward yet remarkably complex objective. Track shoes endure an incredible amount of stress and strain in a very short period of time, and therefore require additional stitching and adhesives to bind the upper to the sole securely. The extra reinforcement, however, adds a great deal of weight to the shoe and accounts for huge research and engineering budgets to develop and employ better materials to solve the weight issue.

Looking to nature for inspiration, Nike drew ideas from spider webs, and later suspension bridges as they focused on points and lines for flexible skeletal structures. An extraordinary new system resulted. By focusing on the greatest points of tension on the shoe from the athlete’s foot, the team meticulously placed “tension wires” from one point to another, connecting them much like suspension cables hold up a bridge. The material they chose was Vectran thread. Spun from liquid crystal polymers, Vectran is much stronger than Kevlar and was initially used to sew the balloons on the latest lunar rover. The filaments were then coated in a TPU upper to resist any snagging or tear, and to define the overall shape of the shoe. Unlike traditional uppers though which constitute a large portion of a shoe’s weight, the Victory’s entire shell was only two microns thick and virtually weightless.

Most impressive, however, was the application of a surgical process during the manufacturing of the shoe. With integrity and strength being crucial, the shoe construction required a center seam, which also ensured a truer fit for the athlete. However, the thread added extra weight. To achieve both structure and weightlessness, the shoe was sewn up the middle but utilized a thread comparable to water-soluble sutures (used in surgical practice). After the entire spike was finished being assembled, it was wiped down with a wet sponge to dissolve all the thread, thus reducing the weight by 1.2 grams.

Altogether, the spike weighs less than 100 grams and is considered the “Holy Grail” of track shoes. The material research, application, manufacturing process and sub-processes all facilitated a remarkable product, and with it new discoveries were made concerning material applications and manufacturing processes.

Ultimately, as a designer everything relies on observation. One can possess expertise in the sciences, engineering, human factors, financial markets, or sculpture. Yet it takes tremendous research, the ability to "see" objectively, and sometimes pure accident to find new applications for new or already existing things. The research, development, experimentation, and application of materials and technology consequently facilitate potential for revolution.

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