Eyewear in a material world

The production of eyewear using 3D printing has been gathering momentum in the eyewear industry for a number of years now, but at Silmo the use of the technology became even more apparent. Mykita, Monoqool and Ron Arad’s PQ Eyewear project were just three of the brands using the technology, each in different ways and in different styles.

In some quarters, 3D printing has been touted as the future of eyewear, but how are designers using the technology at present?

Danish manufacturer Monoqool unveiled its first 3D selective laser sintering project at the event, the IQ Series.

The manufacturer has a reputation for innovation, with its corkscrew hinges and NXT frames, so the addition of 3D printed frames made perfect sense says CEO Allan Peterson: ‘We decided to give it a try because it allows greater flexibility from a technology perspective. It’s also great because it allows us to keep production in Denmark instead of Japan – which itself is an achievement as most eyewear today is coming cheaply out of Asia. We also have greater control over the quality and can drastically reduce lead times.’ Peterson believes that when the collection is production ready towards the end of the year, lead time could be as low as two weeks from order to delivery. Impressive considering the additional manufacturing steps that Monoqool deploys.