Case Study: McLaren achieves an award-winning, high-performance 3D-printed metal eyewear collection with Materialise

Reinventing the Frame The McLaren Vision Collection

McLaren wanted to extend its supercar engineering and luxury DNA to eyewear but faced a design and manufacturing challenge: realize a lightweight, durable, ultra-thin frame geometry that conventional methods couldn’t produce efficiently. To achieve this high-end, customizable metal eyewear collection, McLaren partnered with Materialise for its metal 3D printing expertise and additive manufacturing services.

Materialise developed a dedicated metal 3D‑printing and post‑processing workflow at its Metal Competence Center, delivering reproducible, traceable, on‑demand production with artisanal finishing and personalization options. The resulting McLaren Vision Collection realized the original vision, reduced material waste compared with traditional methods, shortened time‑to‑market through flexible production, and earned the Frame Technological Innovation of the Year at the 2018 Silmo d’Or — a measurable validation of Materialise’s solution.

McLaren