Walking on the cloud – From Spain to Italy...
The Spanish companies Ingecon and Podoactiva integrated their “3D Insole Designer" into the CloudSME Appcenter. The web based “3D Scan Insole Designer" is a set of tools which will allow it to fully automate and facilitate the design process while enabling a row of benefits for customers.
As the duration of the design process is one of the bottlenecks which causes high costs, cloud computing can help, allowing the access of High-Performance Computing capabilities and enabling many simultaneous remote user accesses. This reduces the computing time needed for the design and will thus increase the insoles manufacturing capability.
As a first success, Base Protection, an Italian Manufacturer of Safety Shoes, uses the software to offer a new service to their customers. They will not only have the opportunity to design tailor-made insoles, but to order a perfectly fitting set of a shoe and an insole.
The case study
The production of tailored insoles for footwear requires a personal design which can be cost intensive. The other way round, there would be many potential users if they are offered at competitive prices.
By migrating their 3D insole scan & design method to the CloudSME Appcenter, Podoactiva, a Spanish biotechnology company specialised in podiatry and biomechanics and the IT provider INGECON, found a way to achieve both: address a considerably increased group of customers worldwide and cut costs.
As the duration of the design process is one of the bottlenecks which causes high costs, cloud computing can help, allowing the access of High-Performance Computing capabilities and enabling many simultaneous remote user accesses. This reduces the computing time needed for the design and will thus increase the insoles manufacturing capability.
The benefits of cloud-based insole design
The web based “3D Scan Insole Designer“, developed by INGECON in the CloudSME project, is a set of tools which will allow it to fully automate and facilitate the design process while enabling a row of benefits for customers:
1. Ubiquity & no dependency on software licenses: Every user (podiatrists, shoe or insole manufacturers, etc.) who has access to a special foot scanner and an internet connection, will now be able to produce perfectly fitting insoles without the need of buying expensive software or hardware.
2. No need of skills using CAD programs: The user will just have to upload a virtual mould of a foot in a .stl (STereo Lithography) format to the validator in the CloudSME App Store.
3. Immediate validation of scans avoiding rejections and delay: The user will get back the results immediately and can assess if it is a valid input to design and manufacture a tailored insole using the 3D Scan Insole Designer suite.
4. Offering new business model opportunities: Like Base Protection, an Italian Manufacturer of Safety Shoes, companies can profit using this application. Base Protection will use it to offer a new line of innovative shoes with a high level of customization: The customer therefore selects the right shoe online, getting back the accurate data of the size and form of the inner side of the shoe.
5./6./7. Easy manufacturing: Then both or one CAD file(s) can be uploaded again. The results will then be downloaded in the manufacturer’s office and the Insole will be produced and ...
8./9. Automatic delivery: ...sent to the customer automatically.
For further information:
www.podoactiva.com
www.ingenieriaycontrol.es
