Case Study: The Timberland Company achieves rapid, low-cost prototyping and faster design cycles with 3D Systems

The Timberland Company - Customer Case Study

Timberland, a global leader in footwear and lifestyle apparel, faced a bottleneck in product development: engineers and marketers needed affordable, realistic prototypes fast to refine fit, tread, and support. Relying on external model makers left Timberland waiting a week for each prototype at about $1,200, limiting iterations, slowing collaboration and stretching design cycles.

Timberland moved prototyping in‑house with 3D Systems’ ZPrinter 310 and later the full‑color Spectrum Z510, printing CAD models on demand. The change cut prototype cost from ~$1,200 to about $35 and turnaround from a week to roughly 90 minutes, compressed design cycles (about a 33% reduction), enabled many more iterations, improved design communication with color, and helped increase sales.

The Timberland Company

Toby Ringdahl

Computer Aided Design Manager