TALMAR
Talmar x Zellerfeld
Bridging footwear ergonomics and additive manufacturing innovation.
BENEFITS
Material waste reduction
Eliminating glues, seams, and multi-part assembly by designing a single-material architectural volume from the ground up.
Design for Additive Manufacturing
Overcoming traditional manufacturing limitations by tailoring the geometry explicitly for 3D printing ecosystems.
Print-ready topology
Delivering a flawless, watertight mesh specifically engineered to match the exact slicing and printing parameters of Zellerfeld’s hardware.
BRIEF
PROJECT BRIEF
Talmar is a collaborative exploration developed with Zellerfeld, designed to merge our studio’s deep expertise in footwear ergonomics with the limitless possibilities of additive manufacturing. Moving away from traditional multi-material assembly, the objective was to design a fully monolithic shoe. The primary challenge was not just aesthetic, but structural: conceptualizing a compelling silhouette that strictly adheres to the topological rules required for seamless, zero-waste 3D printing.
METHODOLOGY
Methodology
The workflow shifted from our standard performance simulation pipeline to a pure 3D form-finding and mesh-optimization process. The methodology was driven by the strict parameters of 3D printing hardware. Key phases include:
01
Conceptualization
Defining a fluid, monolithic silhouette that translates traditional footwear needs into a single volume.
02
3D Form finding
Translating the concept into a highly detailed digital volume, focusing on proportion and ergonomic fit.
03
Topology optimization
Refining the digital mesh to control wall thicknesses, overhangs, and self-supporting geometries.
04
Print-ready export
Finalizing and exporting a flawless, watertight 3D asset ready for Zellerfeld’s manufacturing ecosystem.
TECHNICAL FOCUS
Technical Focus
The core technical challenge of Talmar lay in mastering Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM). Unlike traditional footwear, which is assembled from multiple cut materials, a 3D-printed shoe must be conceived as a single continuous volume. The technical focus centered on generating a flawless 3D mesh optimized for Zellerfeld’s specific printing parameters. This required precise engineering of internal structures, rigorous control of wall thicknesses, and the design of self-supporting overhangs. The ultimate goal was to ensure the digital model could physically manifest layer by layer without structural failures, bridging the gap between complex digital modeling and physical reality.
OUTCOME
