Case Study: Iristick achieves 6-month faster time-to-market for agile 3D-printed smart safety glasses with Materialise

A Smart Way to Deliver Smart Glasses 3D Printing Helps Achilles Design and Iristick Get Market-Ready

Iristick, a start-up developing industrial smart safety glasses, faced the challenge of packing sophisticated electronics into a lightweight, wearable frame while moving quickly from prototype to market without high upfront tooling costs. Working with Materialise, Iristick explored 3D Printing (using PA12 material) to enable rapid design iterations and a production approach that preserved comfort and functionality.

Materialise validated PA12 for safety use and optimized the designs for 3D printing—creating internal cavities for electronics, a patent-pending spiral-like cold-bend arm for fit, and an assembly process for packaging components—allowing Iristick to enter small-series manufacturing at least six months ahead of schedule and eliminate expensive molds to reduce initial investment costs. The result: market-ready C1 and Z1 models (62 g for the C1) with advanced features (HUD, 9-axis sensor, zoom camera), greater agility for customization, and measurable business impact in speed-to-market and lower capex thanks to Materialise.

Iristick

Riemer Grootjans

Chief Executive Officer