Case Study: Converse achieves rapid prototyping and drastically reduced development time with 3D Systems (Geomagic Freeform)

Converse Delivers Innovative Shoe Designs With Geomagic Freeform

Converse, a leading athletic footwear brand, needed to speed product development and reduce errors while preserving design creativity. The challenge was to move from concept sketch to production-ready tooling faster and with fewer iterations—especially for high-profile releases like the WADE 2.0—without sacrificing fit, detail, or designer input.

Using Geomagic Freeform, Converse immediately converts sketches into full 3D models, applies a digitized last for correct foot geometry, and keeps parts in a model tree for fine detailing; models are rapid-prototyped, reviewed, and sent digitally to overseas mold shops with quick 2D blueprints. The result: drastically shortened development cycles (the WADE 2.0 moved from inception to tooling opened in 6 days with two blueprint rounds versus up to a month), faster sample approvals (including sign-off by Dwyane Wade), and smoother handoffs to manufacturing.

Converse

Jon Baier

Senior Director of Product Development