Hi everyone! My name is Desiree Forster; I’m a new student at UNM pursuing my master’s in Computer Science. My undergraduate degrees are in Computer Science and Math from New Mexico Highlands University (a smaller university just north of Santa Fe). I enrolled in this course, because I haven’t had much exposure to 3D printing and have always enjoyed spending my free-time drawing, painting, making blankets, etc. Though not the same, I associate 3D printing with art, and learning the variety of applications peak my interest; especially those in sports. This course will be my first introduction to meshing my degrees with art and design, which I’m very much looking forward to!
Given my background in athletics, a project that I particularly found inspiring in the realm of computation design was the reinvention of the basketball, the Wilson Airless Gen1 Basketball. Assigned to the the R&D scientist at Wilson, Dr. Nadine Lippa was tasked to reinvent the basketball in an innovative way, ultimately revolutionizing the way 3D printing could significantly improve athletic equipment. The Wilson R&D team worked with General Lattice and EOS to develop this basketball using a polymer lattice 3D structure, built with hexagonal holes across its’ entire spherical surface as a way to replicate all the features produced by the original ball. This includes mimicking the feel, weight, size, and bounce elements while removing the need to inflate the ball to meet league/gaming standards. Beyond the “airless” marketing, this prototype is also said to maintain a uniform pressure and bounce that can be altered by elevation, removes the ability to tamper, and is actually much cheaper to manufacturer via 3D printing (Cousins, 2024). The amount of detail that went into this model to essentially keep all the qualities of a leather basketball is what drew me to the project the most. The Airless Gen1 Basketball is only one of many examples that showcases how computational design can be used to enhance non-traditional ideas, such as athletics.
More information can be found in the following sources: https://www.designreview.byu.edu/collections/good-design-wilson-airless-gen1-basketball and https://www.behance.net/gallery/192055945/Wilson-Airless-Gen1?locale=en_US
Hope you all found this as interesting as I did! Thanks.
Hi Desiree! I think that your background in art and athletics will add such a unique perspective to your interest in 3D printing. I would say that it’s impressive how the design of the Wilson Airless Gen1 Basketball maintains all the key features of a conventional basketball while eliminating the need for inflation and improving manufacturing efficiency. This project really highlights the potential of 3D printing to enhance even the most familiar objects. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Desiree! I remember hearing about this basketball and I am curious if other sports will follow creating something similar or even if later iterations of this ball will become more widely used at college and professional levels. It is also very fascinating how they were able to create this and make it cheaper than a standard leather ball.
The problem being solved here is very novel and I love it. The parameters of designing a bit of sports equipment feel very different from most other projects. Since it’s not just a static object like a cabinet you have to pay close attention to how it feels to hold, how it handles use on the court, and other factors. Fact they were able to create an airless basketball is very impressive and raises interesting questions, because they were able to mimic the external properties of a basketball (shape, weight, bounce) but did so through completely different mechanics.
Hello, I found the airless basket ball to be a fun rabithole to dig down. The last few ball changes in the NBA went soooooooooo well(sarcasm). When the ball change in 2020s the game dristlic change. Player that had years of muscle memory seems to work against them. You use the word cheep… and I guess that is subjective to the author that wrote the articals but when they cost 2500 dollars( thats in the realm of unubtainam). I believe that cost is do to RND and maybe could come down leather ball prices of 30-70 dollar one day with at scale production.
Hi Desiree. This is a really cool pick. I wonder if this type of basketball will catch on in mainstream as it is cheap to produce. I am also curious to see if a similar concept can be applied to other types of sports balls, like a soccer ball. I tried to see if they have tried that yet, but I didn’t find anything. I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks for sharing!
It’s crazy how far science can evolve something as seemingly simple as the humble basketball! Unfortunately, I imagine it’ll take a long time for this new ball to get adopted by groups like the NBA, if ever. I’m sure it would past physical examinations (making sure it performs just like a regular ball, etc) with flying colors, but there’s other, more hidden hurdles.
With larges holes across the surface being a core part of the design, it’ll be harder for branding to be added and made visually prominent, which is a huge detractor for companies. The ball being so wildly different would also cause uproar in the sports community, full of gut reactions and adversity to change, rather than people examining the scientific merits. There’s also the question of manufacturing: ensuring quality and reliability and so on, and the fact that the NBA has special deals and contracts with existing manufacturers that would rather maintain the status quo.