Additive manufacturing as a potential and functional alternative in foot orthotics production

Foot orthotics are devices designed and manufactured for helping people in physical disabilities. They work properly when they are personalized: fitting with the plantar foot. Although CNC machining allows a digital design and flexible manufacturing of customized devices, it remains only a potential alternative in comparison with current thermoforming procedures able to guarantee a feasible personalized approach. The consistency of Fused Deposition Modeling, as a direct digital manufacturing technique, was investigated with the final attempt to propose it as a feasible alternative. The technological opportunities were investigated through a characterization of material and process parameters verified with geometrical and functional tests, finally validated by an economic point of view. Different additive strategies have been performed in order to better understand correlations between process parameters and product specifications