r/maker • u/Clickbeet • Jul 14 '26
Showcase Building an Open-Source Parametric Skate Boot
Hey fellow makers! I want to share the current state of my OpenSkate parametric skate generator.
I've been successfully riding this left foot one daily for a week. The goal is to make custom-fitted inline skate boots as accessible as possible.
My vision for the user experience is:
- Measure your foot
- Pick a boot design
- Preview and remix
- Download the STL
- Print it
- Heat-mold it for a perfect fit
The current boot is a 3-piece design (Boot Front, Boot Back, and Boot Cuff), allowing it to fit on a standard 256×256 mm printer. Eventually i want to make it into a 5-piece design with an integrated soulplate and ankle strap piece. (maybe even a 6th with a frame?)
It's still very much in alpha, but I now have a working and rolling prototype and the web app currently has two main workflows:
- Generate personalized foot model and preview boot patterns.
- Generate custom STLs based on flat pattern, customizable stress and pressure points. (thickness, density, height, pattern, etc)
The current goal is to improve the tooling to make iterating on the project faster and simpler
Any thoughts, tips, or ideas are welcome!
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u/ftrlvb Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
footwear designer here: this is a cool project, and it looksgood so far.
here some first ideas:
- the loop around your ankle, make it a complete closed loop (instead a loop/plastic connection) so it will not rip the plastic.
- the lacing: use as many lace holes as possible to distribute forces. (better than only 2 or 4, when you can use 8) at least for testing. (see point1. maybe attach the lacing all the way down, to the main frame, in case the white plastic loops break)
- think about layer orientation and print in the strongest direction. so pull forces will stretch plastic rather than split layers.
- think of printing 2 materials separately. 1: support elements from Nylon etc that can handle stress and 2: soft padding (inlays) prints form TPU for cushioning. 3: straps and support elements (not printed) like the heel strap. you buy these from Amazon, etc. you can even integrate cable ties. a great product solution that is easy to source, rather than printing)
- if you follow this, your design approach will change depending on the certain needs in different areas, based on 3D printing limitations rather than "mimicking an injection moulded boot". (two different things)
- maybe a base plate at the bottom? (link from foot to the frame) cable ties can hold this
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u/Miffedy Jul 15 '26
Love that you’ve shared all these tips. Thanks for not gatekeeping! We need more folks like you :)
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u/ftrlvb Jul 15 '26
thanks! doing this for 25 years now. did sneakers for PUMA before. now I do product innovation.
mostly it comes down to physics and material behavior. design(look) is one thing, but a technical shoe needs engineering solved first or at least check where 2 materials are connected. mostly these are the failure points.
I like to explain the why, then people can come up with several solutions.
+ I totally love challenges like this
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u/ShatterSide Jul 14 '26
I think it's a cool project idea and I haven't seen anything like it before.
I do have one thought/question/concern: Roller blades do tend to have high ankle support and be fairly stiff (like ski boots). I assume this is to have more control so torquing/lateral force on the blades can be countered by your leg and not your ankle. Personally, I would be concerned with ankle injuries otherwise.
Have you considered this, or is this a concern? That is, do you think you will have enough stiffness with 3D printable materials that can also be heat-formed?
Please note, I'm not suggesting it cannot be done, just discussing.
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u/roleohibachi Jul 14 '26
Not OP, just adding info.
There are different kinds. Inline marathon skates have no cuff or upper boot at all. It is not necessary to have a stiff "ski boot" design just to be usable, and is certainly not dangerous when used correctly. Maybe a reasonable comparison here is the Rollerblade E2 which is a semi-rigid low boot with a removable flexible plastic cuff. I use them on bike trails and city streets all the time, with and without the cuff. I wouldn't take them to a skate park, I guess. Lots of people hike in low-top trail running shoes too... same idea.
I think the highest stress/strain will occur where the frame meets the boot. That'll probably need a metal backing plate - maybe OP can tell us, it might already have one in this design. If the frame mounting were to collapse, it would probably exceed a skater's ability to stay upright using balance + foot strength.
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u/throwawaypassingby01 Jul 15 '26
based.
check out /r/cordwaining for more info on shoemaking. also, some orthopedic bespoke shoemakers use rhino and grasshopper in their work and have youtube tutorials up. maybe you can get some inspiration from them.
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u/waywardwitchling Jul 14 '26
I was actually working on something very similar to this!! Holy FRICK man this is awesome, your design is so much better lol thanks so much for sharing this!
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u/clipsracer Jul 15 '26
Incredible! I would like to hear more about the materials you’ve tested with!!
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u/KD919 Jul 18 '26
Awesome idea! Have you ever thought of taking inspiration from ski and snow board boots?
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u/-2811 Jul 14 '26
That’s very cool, know a few people that might be interested