Nasa scientist behind Reebok's new 'Liquid Factory'

Sportswear giant reveals new technique – invented by a Nasa scientist – for 3D printing training shoes tailored to customers' individual specifications Reebok has unveiled something it calls "Liquid Factory", which the company says will bring back sports shoe manufacturing back to the US. Reebok calls its new factory idea a ground-breaking manufacturing innovation that could fundamentally change the process and speed of footwear creation. Developed by the Reebok Future team, the Liquid Factory process uses state-of-the-art software and robotics to literally draw shoes in three dimensions. The new technique uses 3D drawing, where a proprietary liquid material, created especially for Reebok by BASF, is used to draw shoe componentry cleanly, precisely and in three-dimensional layers. This proprietary layering technique is used to create totally unique footwear, without the use of traditional molds.