Press Release

Leuven, Belgium. November 3, 2015. Materialise NV (NASDAQ: MTLS), a leading provider of Additive Manufacturing software, sophisticated 3D Printing solutions and certified manufacturing services, is taking its collaboration with Bruges-based eyewear specialist Hoet Design Studio to the next level for the 3D-printed Cabrio collection. The new Cabrio models follow Materialise and Hoet’s recent success at the Silmo optical fair in Paris, where together with SEIKO Optical Europe the collaborators won the Silmo d’Or award for excellence in optical innovation.

Materialise and Hoet Design Studio, having launched the 3D-printed Cabrio collection earlier this year, aim to add to the collection with new models every six months to showcase the added value of 3D Printing for eyewear manufacturing. With the victory of the Silmo d’Or award for Materialise and Hoet’s work on the SEIKO Xchanger collection of sports eyewear, the partnership has set a bar for excellence that the new Cabrio models strive to raise even further.
 
3D-Printed Eyewear: Engineering and Software for Better Frames

The new Cabrio frames feature further technological innovations and new finishing options, evolving the collection into a high-end luxury range of accessories. “The eye-catching models include the world’s first 3D-printed adjustable temple system, allowing the wearer to twist and tweak the temples for optimal physiological comfort,” explains Bieke Hoet, founder of Hoet Design Studio. “Making full use of the design and engineering freedom afforded by 3D Printing, the new Cabrio frames are printed in a woven structure that keeps the frames lightweight while the polyamide material ensures their strength and durability.” Materialise’s 3-maticSTL software is used to add advanced textures to the side-grills, which can be personalized with gold and silver accessories. In keeping with the philosophy behind the existing 3D-printed Cabrio collection, the new models continue to combine performance, comfort, and aesthetics for a design that is both classic in its elegance and cutting-edge in its production.

Materialise and Hoet: A Shared Vision for Innovation

“With this evolution into a long-term collaboration, Materialise and Hoet aim to realize the fullest potential of 3D Printing for eyewear, bringing Additive Manufacturing to this dynamic sector not simply because eyewear can be 3D printed but because 3D Printing can make better eyewear,” says Alireza Parandian, Materialise. Materialise has a capacity of more than 120 3D printers and a wide variety of available technologies, and Materialise’s certified manufacturing processes set them apart as one of the most advanced and mature additive manufacturing production facilities in the world. In conjunction with Hoet’s keen understanding of eyewear design and forward-looking vision, the partnership with Materialise for the 3D-printed Cabrio collection marks itself as strongly innovation-driven.  

For more information, please contact:

Vanessa Palsenbarg
Corporate Communications Specialist, Materialise
Phone: +32 16 39 66 37
Fax:    +32 16 39 66 00
Email: Vanessa.Palsenbarg@materialise.be
Twitter: @belgiancanuck or @MaterialiseNV
Visit: www.materialise.com

About Materialise

With its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, and branches worldwide, Materialise is a provider of Additive Manufacturing (AM) software solutions and sophisticated 3D printing services in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, art and design and consumer products. Materialise has been playing an active role in the field of AM since 1990, through its involvement in AM for industrial and medical applications, by providing biomedical and clinical solutions such as medical image processing and surgical simulations and by developing unique solutions for its customers' prototyping, production, and medical needs. For additional information, please visit: www.materialise.com.

About Hoet

Bruges design studio Hoet is a family-owned business founded in 1997. Its activities can be divided into different main categories: the development, distribution and production of their private label eyewear collections—Hoet Eyewear, Hoet Couture, Cabrio and the playful Hoet Eyecatchers, a collection of accessories intended as resources for reinforcing the dynamics of the optical shop. In addition to these, Hoet continues to accept design projects from companies, which the studio undertakes from design up to realization. A full integration of innovation and creation results in a never-ending evolution of their eyewear designs: identifiable, remarkable and successful. Patrick Hoet is the driving force behind the exclusive high-end Hoet Eyewear collection, Hoet Couture as well as remaining a designer for Theo. His daughter Bieke Hoet is responsible for the Cabrio frames as well as for the Hoet Eyecatchers. For additional information, please visit: www.hoet.eu.

Photo credits: © Negin Sadeghi