Sporting goods manufacturer Reusch has announced that its latest football goalkeeping glove contains a special 3D printed lattice to assist the goalkeeper when punching the ball.
Highly elastic, tear-resistant and energy-absorbing, the 3D printed lattice ‘punch zone’ in the Attrakt Fusion Carbon 3D glove offers clear advantages over conventional rubber or latex with its three-dimensional grid structure, which gives rebound and energy return while being very light and extremely flexible.
“Engineered for peak performance, we combined the 3D-printed backhand application with exclusive Reusch technologies like the AdaptiveFlex Closure and Fusion Grip Latex,” said Reusch goalkeeping product manager Christian Hilber. “All this is wrapped in a futuristic design, delivering both cutting-edge functionality and standout style.”
Behind the design of the 3D printed lattice is yet another collaboration with 3D printing company Carbon, with its engineers working alongside Reusch to help develop the glove.
“What I think was most challenging during the development was working with our assembly partner to convert the injection-moulded component to a 3D-printed one,” said Carbon application engineer Jiaqi Ren.
“Within a limited thickness, we used Carbon Design Engine to provide multiple lattice combinations to fine-tune performance. This punch zone component needs to endure continuous flexing throughout the game, so we conducted extensive tests on bonding strength to ensure it meets professional standards.”
The back panel has traditionally been made with latex plastic for decades, says Ren, adding that while also increasing the functional performance of the glove, the lattice allowed for Reusch’s design team to experiment with an entirely new design language for the product. “It offers improved energy damping to help protect the back of the hand, and I believe we’ve only scratched the surface of what this technology can bring to goalkeeper gloves,” stated Ren.
Based in Bolzano, Italy, Reusch specialises in winter sports and goalkeeper gloves – supplying, among others, the world’s best goalkeeper Alisson Becker with his gloves.
