Oct 7, 2016 | By Alec
It’s been quite a silent revolution, but 3D printed glasses are slowly taking over the eyewear industry. Startups like Roger Bacon Eyewear, SpeX and scope for design are all offering users the opportunity to wear customizable and perfectly fitting 3D printed frames. In many cases even storeowners are profiting from this approach, as several companies are offering digital fitting booths relying on 3D facial scanning technology. In those cases, the frames are only 3D printed after selection, keeping overhead costs as low as possible.
But if you’re going to 3D print the frames, you might as well do so as environmentally friendly as possible. That is, in a nutshell, the reasoning behind Yuma – a Belgian startup that will be producing 3D printed, circular sunglasses made from old dashboards, recycled bamboo and even old refrigerators at the beginning of 2017. As the materials themselves are reusable, you can get a discount if you want to switch to a new model.
The name Yuma refers to Yuma, Arizona – often called the sunniest place on Earth. “Not a bad name for a sunglasses manufacturer, we hoped,” says founder Sebastiaan de Neubourg. This Belgian startup was set up in an attempt to start a conversation about the ‘circular economy’, which is focused on local manufacturing and recycling. It’s a way for everyone to make a very small contribution to reducing the vast amounts of plastic that is filling the world’s oceans.
3D printing is expected to play a huge part in that, as it’s essentially the easiest way to set up local production and recycling initiatives. Virtually every material can be transformed into sunglasses through 3D printing, De Neubourg argues. “Our supplier grinds down dashboards and transforms them into filament, though we are also using recycled PET bottles, refrigerators, bambo...
SOURCE: 3ders.org ( go on reading...)
