In collaboration with 3D printer manufacturer Carbon, (Redwood City, California / USA; www.carbon3d.com), sportswear producer Adidas (Herzogenaurach / Germany; www.adidas-group.com) has introduced "Futurecraft 4D" shoes. The midsoles of the shoes are made using a photochemical process (with light and oxygen) called "Digital Light Synthesis", a technology pioneered by Carbon that employs "digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics, and programmable liquid resins". Futurecraft 4D midsoles are made with a proprietary elastomeric polyurethane, similar to Carbon’s “EPU 40” material, that is a 3D printable material.

Joseph DeSimone, Carbon co-founder and CEO, says, "Despite the influence of technology to improve almost every other aspect of our lives, for eons the manufacturing process has followed the same four steps that make up the product development cycle – design, prototype, tool, produce. Carbon has changed that; we’ve broken the cycle and are making it possible to go directly from design to production."

5,000 pairs of Futurecraft 4D shoes will be available in autumn/winter of 2017. Adidas plans to scale-up footwear production using Digital Light Synthesis, with more than 100,000 pairs by the end of 2018. The company started using additive manufacturing for footwear in 2014, launching its first 3D-printed footwear, Futurecraft 3D Runner, in 2015.