New 3D printed shoe box gifted to Lionel Messi

There are some interesting and visually striking 3D printed shoes making headlines lately, from sneakers to golf shoes and casual sandals. But with all these additive manufactured shoes, one thing that comes up less often is the containers the shoes come in. That all changed at the end of 2023, and sports giant Adidas teamed up with Italian 3D printing company WASP to create a luxury 3D printed commemorative shoebox for soccer legend Lionel Messi after he celebrated his eighth Ballon d'Or win of his career .

Both Adidas and WASP have previously been involved in their own 3D printing projects, including Adidas' 3D printed shoes and WASP's previous collaborations with Dior, Honda and others. The shoe box, a joint effort between the two companies, was not just an empty gesture, but also contained a one-of-a-kind pair of handmade Adidas boots designed especially for Messi. While the shoes inside are unfortunately not 3D printed, the box itself has a few interesting qualities that make it stand out from your standard cardboard rectangle with four corners. In fact, precisely because of its unique shape and design, 3D printing was the natural choice to create it, giving designers the freedom to create shapes that traditional manufacturing simply couldn't match.

Using WASP's ultra-precise 4070 ZX dual-extrusion printer, the Nylon-CF case was printed in four parts over 200 hours. Each part was designed to fit perfectly in final assembly, the only addition being the hinges that connected the top and bottom and allowed the case to open. To build the box with the required level of detail, precision was key. To achieve this, the WASP 4070 ZX printer was chosen to build the parts due to its large format capacity as well as the high level of precision typically used for industrial applications and prototyping. In addition, WASP was able to use its patented Active Vacuum Control (VAC) system to eliminate any risk of micro-movements that could compromise the final quality of the prints.

Not only the construction, but also the aesthetic design of the case has also been carefully considered. The shape of the box takes on the form of a dodecahedron, reflecting the black pentagons of soccer balls. Inside, a matching platform is perched front and center where a pair of custom Adidas shoes can be displayed. After being built and assembled at WASP's headquarters in Italy, the box was handed over to Adidas for a final 'boot' and given to Messi to celebrate his achievement. You can see more about the 3D printed box in the video: