Nike's continued materials experimentation has yielded Flyknit, their proprietary blend of "yarns and fabric variations [that] are precisely engineered only where they are needed for a featherweight, formfitting and virtually seamless upper." The benefits of employing materials in this way are 1) a lighter weight product, and 2) less waste, as the Flyknit materials comprise the bulk of the upper, and 3) combining the comfort of a sock with the structure and support of a traditional hard-material sneaker.
As the company explains:NIKE embarked on a four-year mission of micro-engineering static properties into pliable materials. It required teams of programmers, engineers and designers to create the proprietary technology needed to create the knit upper. The next steps were to map out where the specific yarn and knit structures were needed. Applying 40 years of knowledge from working with runners, NIKE refined the precise placement of support, flexibility and breathability - all in one layer. The result is precision engineering in its purest form, performance on display. Every element has a purpose: resulting in one of the lightest, best fitting running shoes NIKE has ever made.
The second video doesn't pretend to be informative, but instead uses sexy CG to show off the shoe:
The first Flyknit kicks will hit store shelves this July.
Hi Rain, glad you like. It seems it took several years to straighten out with the USPO, but check the patents that have been updated. We ourselves, have been doing technical 3D knitting since the 80's. And we are thrilled that a renaissance for technical knit solutions has taken hold and people are paying attention to not only technical knitting again, but how much trash from production goes into the landfills around the globe from these huge companies. Check out our most recent project. www.warpforward.com More good things to come :)
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With all our recent talk of polypropylene composites, we thought we'd show you an interesting application of the stuff that you may recognize: Chris Kabel and Droog's Seam chair and bench, from way back in 2007, is made out of the Pure stuff produced by Lankhorst. Kabel, in cooperation with...
made with Tegrismade with TegrisThis is a good week for materials geeks. Readers have written in about two more composite materials, one that fits into the family populated by the Tegris and Pure materials, and one that doesn't. Here's an opportunity to explain the distinction.The former material is called Curv...
Following our post on the Tegris material, reader Niels has asked if a material trademarked as Pure, produced by Dutch textiles manufacturer The Royal Lankhorst Euronete Group and pictured here, is essentially the same stuff with different trademarking. The two materials have a lot in common: Both Tegris and Pure...
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