As a company, VAUDE always strives to think outside the box to create new sustainable products - the latest innovation is a fully recyclable backpack made from a single material.

Therefore, the main goal was to replace conventional foam-based back cushions - which was made possible through the use of additive manufacturing. 

In cooperation with OECHSLER, VAUDE has opened a new chapter in local sourcing and superior cushioning. The new back pads manufactured of 3D-printed lattice comfort elements reduce contact pressures, increase air ventilation, and are also fully recyclable. 

With the Novum 3D VAUDE and OECHSLER enable a look into the future of sustainable, technical enhanced products and manufacturing processes. With this small series, VAUDE is gaining important experience on the way to the circular economy. 

Thanks to freely designable lattice structures only possible by using Additive Manufacturing, a fully integrated cushioning experience unlocks superior comfort. The open cell structure of the 3D-printed back pads and hip fins strongly enhances air ventilation, minimizes heat accumulation and thus noticeably reduces the temperature (3 to 5 °C) as well as relative humidity rise at the contact area to the hiker’s back.

Furthermore, maximum and mean contact pressures are significantly optimized. The damping characteristics of the lattice structure are programmable ue to lattice geometry, the strut thickness, and the size of the lattice. This allows variant areas of the lattice to have different degrees of hardness, thus, increasing damping properties and comfort.

Driven by the idea of offering our customers more flexibility and efficiency in production, OECHSLER can realize small lot sizes as well as high volume series production and complex components. The special BASF Forward AM Ultrasint ® TPU01 material is a multi-purpose TPU that offers strong, flexible, and very durable part performance, combined with excellent surface quality. Furthermore, the material is very easy to print with high process stability and one of the highest throughputs for flexible material in the 3D printing market.

Thanks to the design flexibility enabled by additive manufacturing, the back pads can be produced in one single piece, which significantly reduces assembly steps, assembly time, and ultimately costs. No more gluing or sewing is required to integrate the pads into the systems.

In addition, the unprocessed Ultrasint® TPU01 powder is fully reused in subsequent print jobs.

Consequently, further components of the backpack are also made with TPU, so that the complete NOVUM 3D consists of only one material.

This mono-material product allows for the highest recyclability. After the buckles and back stays have been removed, the Novum 3D backpack consists only of TPU materials, which can theoretically be processed into recyclate.