3D Printed Orthotics
For decades, 3D Printed Orthotics were considered a futuristic concept—something that might happen one day. In 2025, that day has arrived. The traditional workflow of messy plaster casting and grinding polypropylene blocks is rapidly being replaced by a cleaner, faster, and more precise digital ecosystem.
At Brainchild, we are seeing a massive shift in how Australian podiatrists treat patients. It isn’t just about “new technology”; it is about solving the age-old limitations of traditional manufacturing.
The Old Way: Expensive and Messy We all know the traditional struggle. It begins with a plaster casting or foam box impression. It’s messy for the clinic and uncomfortable for the patient. The positive cast is poured, modified by hand, and a shell is vacuum-formed and ground to shape.
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The flaw: It is labor-intensive, creates waste, and relies heavily on the manual skill of the technician grinding the shell. If the prescription needs adjusting, you often have to start from scratch.
The New Way: Scan, Design, Print The modern workflow for 3D Printed Orthotics is streamlined:
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3D Scan: The podiatrist takes a sub-millimetre accurate scan of the foot using an iPad or dedicated scanner.
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Digital CAD: The prescription is applied digitally. We can adjust arch height, heel cup depth, and posting angles by fractions of a degree.
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Production: The file is sent to our industrial SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) printers, which fuse Nylon powder into the final shape.
The “Killer Feature”: Variable Density Lattices This is where 3D Printed Orthotics truly outperform traditional methods. In the past, if you wanted a softer heel but a rigid arch, you had to glue different EVA foams together. It was bulky and prone to delamination.
With 3D printing, we generate Lattice Structures. By changing the density of the internal mesh, we can print an orthotic that is rigid in the arch for support, yet soft in the heel for cushioning—all in a single, continuous part. There are no glues to fail, and the breathability is vastly superior to solid plastic.
Material Science: Why PA11 Nylon? We don’t use standard hobbyist plastics. We utilize PA11 (Nylon 11), a bio-based material derived from castor oil.
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Durability: It survives millions of flex cycles without cracking.
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Thinness: We can print shells as thin as 2mm that still offer immense support, fitting easily into modern footwear.
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Memory: unlike Polypropylene which can flatten over time, sintered Nylon retains its spring-back capability for years.
The Verdict for Clinics Transitioning to 3D Printed Orthotics offers huge scope for commercial podiatrists across Australia. It eliminates physical storage (files are kept in the cloud), reduces lead times, and offers a premium, high-tech product to patients.
Ready to modernize your clinic? Brainchild provides white-label manufacturing for podiatrists. Contact us today to discuss how we can integrate digital manufacturing into your practice.
