You'll find it in every inflatable parts designers sketchbook: a nicely shaped inflatable part that is held in shape by a lot of yarns, bits of webbing or tapes. The sketch will feature these internal links with all having a different length, and different angle to make sure the membrane assumes the designed shape once inflated. A lot of these sketches are abandoned with a (mental) goodbye note saying: Too complex to build.
Too complex to build? Not anymore!
The new shapewave technology allows for fully automated design and assembly of internal tapes with super strong bonds to the membrane, in any conceivable length and angle, to create inflatable parts with pressures up to 1,4 bar (~20Psi).
Preliminary studies indicate that the shapewave technology will allow manufacturing parts at a fraction of the weight and deflated bulk. As an example, a 10' inflatable SUP usually weighing 15kg could be reduced to under 5kg, and to pack down to fit a grocery bag, with the added benefit of having a meaningful deck and underwater shape, a much sharper edge and a volume of 200l - a whopping 100l less to pump!
Using the shapewave technology, your foil kite or paraglider canopy can be designed at around 100gr/m²
The patented shapewave technology utilizes a streamlined set of algorithms and hardware components to populate, evaluate and manufacture true 3D inflatable parts in analogy with 3D printing. During the build proces, a continuous tape is alternately welded between two opposing airtight membranes, with each section of tape having an individual length. The welds are programmed on the membranes for enhanced precision, while the membranes can be assembled from multiple panels to build double curvature parts. Preliminary experiments are indicative of build speeds of over 3000 bond lines per hour.
the shapewave project started from a do not pierce membrane material that’s perfectly airtight to begin with axiom
Applications for the shapewave technology are numerous. Objects moving through water like boat hulls, boards and canoes, or through air like wings, sails, rotor blades and kites, will benefit from unmatched shape precision, combined with high stiffness, rigidity and a small packed down volume, all at low costs and with short development cycles. We're keeping an ever growing list of potential applications that is starting to look so wild we're adapting to the idea that the first commercial application won't even be on the list.
Shapewave Industries BV has been established to fund and develop the first operational shapewave tool chain of soft and hardware, which is expected to make it's first parts by the end of summer of 2024.
image: inflatable demo wing section