Pointe shoes Additive Manufacturing Prototyping Human-Centered Design 3D printing Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Compliant Mechanism Ballet Engineering Design
Abstract:
Pointe shoes allow a dancer to create the aesthetic of effortless movement. The materials used to make pointe shoes are composed of leather, glue-hardened burlap, satin, and fabric- materials that deteriorate quickly. With current research efforts surrounding the biomechanics when a dancer is on pointe, there is a huge gap in research around implementing new methods of manufacture, such as Additive Manufacturing, that may increase the quality and robustness of shoes. Comparatively, within the sports performance industry, leading companies have already applied Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques to fabricate innovative footwear. This work explores the implementation of AM for the application in pointe shoes. By studying professional dancers’ experiences, the insights drove the design phase to focus on creating a pointe shoe shank using AM primarily. The design iterations were created through Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and compliant mechanism design to deliver similar characteristics to a standard shank. Furthermore, this work also examined designing the entire pointe shoe using AM. These results suggest the significant potential of implementing AM methods to improve pointe shoes and fill the significant gap currently experienced in the ballet field.
