For their 3D printed Xchanger eyewear collection, SEIKO Optical Europe has won the Silmo d’Or award for excellence in optical innovation in the sport equipment category. The collection, first introduced at the leading optics fair Silmo 2015 in Paris, has been made in collaboration with Hoet Design Studio and Materialise Engineering Services.
To be able to guarantee the quality and repeatability demanded, the Xchanger collection is manufactured using SLS technology on dedicated machines, which will use Materialise’s proprietary Additive Manufacturing Control Platform (AMCP) and be tuned specifically for 3D printing eyewear. The AMCP enables full control of the printing process and integrates into Materialise’s software platform, which is used for the entire production process from design to finishing, ensuring that each set of frames is traceable through each step of manufacturing.
SEIKO Xchanger frames include some special features such as an validated anti-fog ventilation system or an integrated lens-change mechanism, that have been achieved due to the design freedom offered by 3D printing. Their modular frame design allows wearers to choose from three different inclination angles and multiple frame-sizes and temple-lengths in different colours. The material used for production has a silk-like molecular structure that is stronger than acetate and lighter than titanium.
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