Case Study: Rawlings Achieves Faster Game-Ready Glove Innovation with Carbon DLS

Rawlings cuts glove weight by 30% with Carbon

Rawlings, a sporting goods manufacturer, wanted to revolutionize baseball glove design by creating an ultra-lightweight, form-fitting glove that would become game-ready faster and maintain its shape longer than traditional models. Their challenge was to replace the felt inserts used to reinforce the thumb and pinky with a new material that offered a superior stiffness-to-weight ratio without compromising durability. They turned to vendor Carbon and its Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) process to achieve this.

Carbon collaborated with Rawlings to design and 3D print precision-tuned lattice stabilizers using its FPU 50 material. This solution provided the optimal stiffness-to-weight ratio and malleability. The result was the Rawlings REV1X glove, which achieved a 30% reduction in weight, a stiffness-to-weight ratio twice that of traditional materials, and was 21% tougher than felt. Carbon's partnership enabled a drastically reduced development timeline and seamless production handoff to manufacturing partner SyBridge.

Rawlings