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Polymers
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Polymers Additive Manufacturing in Sports and Protective Equipment
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Polymers Additive Manufacturing in Sports and Protective Equipment

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 3630

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. George Youssef

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Guest Editor
Experimental Mechanics Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
Interests: impact mitigation; elastomeric foams; mechanics of polymers; fuse filament fabrication; stereolithography; experimental mechanics; composite materials; smart materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Maria Henar Miguélez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Carlos III of Madrid, 28903 Getafe, Spain
Interests: advanced manufacturing; impact dynamics; biomechanics; additive manufacturing; machining of low machinability material; mechanical design; mechanics of polymer materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jose Díaz-Álvarez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Carlos III of Madrid, Getafe, 28903 Madrid, Spain
Interests: advanced manufacturing; additive manufacturing; machining of low machinability material; mechanical design; mechanics of polymer materials; post-processing of composite material
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to exchange the latest results and research ideas focusing on polymers additive manufacturing of sports and protective equipment. We invite original research articles on all polymer additive manufacturing processes, including materials extrusion, vat polymerization, powder bed fusion, and material jetting, to accelerate the development and production of innovative polymer-based sports gear and protective equipment. The advantages of polymers are axiomatic, while additive manufacturing processes offer design and optimization opportunities for maximum performance. This Special Issue focuses on the process–structure–property–performance interrelations of novel additively manufactured sports and protective gears. Additionally, emphasis will be on the 3D printing of synthetic replacements of biological tissues, prostheses, and biomimetics. 

Prof. Dr. George Youssef
Prof. Dr. Maria Henar Miguélez
Dr. Jose Díaz-Álvarez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymers
  • additive manufacturing
  • 3D printing
  • sports gear
  • protective equipment
  • protheses
  • biomimetics

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 10078 KiB  
Article
Investigating the Flexural Properties of 3D-Printed Nylon CF12 with Respect to the Correlation Between Loading and Layering Directions
by Katarina Monkova, Peter Pavol Monka, Jana Burgerova and Gyula Szabo
Polymers 2025, 17(6), 788; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17060788 - 16 Mar 2025
Viewed by 472
Abstract
The article deals with the investigation of the flexural properties of 3D-printed Nylon CF12 with regard to the correlation between the loading and layering directions. It also discusses the prospective consideration of a suitable combination of lightweight material, 3D-printing, and cellular structures for [...] Read more.
The article deals with the investigation of the flexural properties of 3D-printed Nylon CF12 with regard to the correlation between the loading and layering directions. It also discusses the prospective consideration of a suitable combination of lightweight material, 3D-printing, and cellular structures for application in sports, such as the production of poles for pole vaulting. Full-volume samples (with and without orbital shell) and porous (Diamond, Primitive, and Gyroid) samples sizes of 20 × 20 × 250 mm were fabricated and subjected to experimental three-point bending tests. The force–displacement dependencies were plotted, and the data were further evaluated. The results showed that the flexural properties of 3D-printed full-volume beams are significantly influenced by the direction of loading relative to the layering, while for porous beams with cellular structures, the differences in properties are very small. Also, the mismatches between the material properties listed in the datasheets and achieved within the research were identified and indicate the necessity to verify mechanical properties of newly developed products experimentally. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers Additive Manufacturing in Sports and Protective Equipment)
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22 pages, 10869 KiB  
Article
Mechanical and Thermo-Regulative Investigations on Additively Manufactured Backpack Pads
by Niko Nagengast, Yehuda Weizman, Michael Frisch, Tizian Scharl and Franz Konstantin Fuss
Polymers 2025, 17(6), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17060738 - 11 Mar 2025
Viewed by 474
Abstract
Backpacks play a pivotal role in facilitating the transportation of essential items, particularly within the realm of physical activities. In demanding physical environments such as mountain sports, effective thermoregulation, pressure absorption, and distribution become paramount due to the repetitive interaction between the athlete’s [...] Read more.
Backpacks play a pivotal role in facilitating the transportation of essential items, particularly within the realm of physical activities. In demanding physical environments such as mountain sports, effective thermoregulation, pressure absorption, and distribution become paramount due to the repetitive interaction between the athlete’s back and the corresponding area of the backpack. Given that the backpack pads serve as a crucial component of this system, acting as the intermediary layer between the human body and the backpack itself, this study delves into the mechanical and thermoregulatory properties of these components. Specifically, it compares a commercially available pad configuration with five lattice structures manufactured using additive manufacturing techniques. These methods include Large-Volume Filament printing, Multi-Jet Fusion, High-Speed Laser Sintering, and Laser Sintering, with an additional post-processing step—smoothening—for the Multi-Jet Fusion pads. All pads are evaluated on both standardized test protocols regarding mechanics, surface roughness, and humidity as well as a biomechanical setup. For continuous measurement during biomechanical testing, a sensor system including pressure, humidity, and temperature sensors is developed. In addition, a thermal camera was used to measure surface temperature at the back. Throughout the biomechanical testing, 20 male athletes performed a 15 min treadmill walk at 5 km/h and an incline of 6° with all pad configurations, wearing a commercially available backpack with an additional 8 kg of mass. The results revealed significant preferences regarding temperature and humidity uptake, backed up by the standardized test procedures. Furthermore, investigations with the customized sensor system show the irrelevance of the damping-improved back plate design. Overall, additively manufactured backpack pads can play a pivotal role in the thermoregulation and personalized design of backpack configurations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers Additive Manufacturing in Sports and Protective Equipment)
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12 pages, 7233 KiB  
Article
Additive Manufacturing of Head Surrogates for Evaluation of Protection in Sports
by Ramiro Mantecón, Borja Valverde-Marcos, Ignacio Rubio, George Youssef, José Antonio Loya, José Díaz-Álvarez and María Henar Miguélez
Polymers 2024, 16(12), 1753; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16121753 - 20 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1345
Abstract
Head impacts are a major concern in contact sports and sports with high-speed mobility due to the prevalence of head trauma events and their dire consequences. Surrogates of human heads are required in laboratory testing to safely explore the efficacy of impact-mitigating mechanisms. [...] Read more.
Head impacts are a major concern in contact sports and sports with high-speed mobility due to the prevalence of head trauma events and their dire consequences. Surrogates of human heads are required in laboratory testing to safely explore the efficacy of impact-mitigating mechanisms. This work proposes using polymer additive manufacturing technologies to obtain a substitute for the human skull to be filled with a silicone-based brain surrogate. This assembly was instrumentalized with an Inertial Measurement Unit. Its performance was compared to a standard Hybrid III head form in validation tests using commercial headgear. The tests involved impact velocities in a range centered around 5 m/s. The results show a reasonable homology between the head substitutes, with a disparity in the impact response within 20% between the proposed surrogate and the standard head form. The head surrogate herein developed can be easily adapted to other morphologies and will significantly decrease the cost of the laboratory testing of head protection equipment, all while ensuring the safety of the testing process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers Additive Manufacturing in Sports and Protective Equipment)
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