The high-performance eyewear leveraging 3D printing

Following VoxelMatters’ visit to the 2025 MIDO Eyewear Show in Milan—which as per usual featured some innovative 3D printed designs and AM-centered business models—we want to highlight a number of eyewear products that leverage additive manufacturing technologies. Specifically, we want to look at high-performance eyewear products targeted at the cycling and sports markets.

Before we dive in, let’s take a quick look at why 3D printing is becoming more popular in the eyewear market. There are a number of reasons eyewear manufacturers, particularly smaller ones, are turning to 3D printing technologies. For one, the technology enables greater design freedom, opening the doors to some innovative, high-performance and eye-catching frames.

Using 3D printing to produce frames is also more ecological than conventional mass production processes, resulting in 58% lower carbon footprint according to a study from Siemens. AM also unlocks a more adaptable business model based on on-demand or low-volume production, which allows eyewear brands to keep up with changing trends and also minimize waste associated with mass producing quick-passing styles. Importantly, 3D printing also opens the doors to smaller eyewear designers who may have previously been kept out of the industry due to the prohibitive cost of developing and ultimately mass producing frames.

ATTAAC Element

Danish company ATTAAC was founded in 2019 with the goal of developing sport sunglasses that offered a combination of high-performance design, comfort and sustainability. After significant research and design prototyping, the team behind the Danish brand created ATTAAC Element, a pair of high-performance sunglasses targeted at cyclists.

The Element frames, made in Europe, combine two key elements: the ProVision ZEISS lenses, which are anti-fog, anti-glare, anti-smudge, anti-scratch and water repellant; and the BioFrame, 3D printed frames made from flexible and durable bio nylon. These frames are made using selective laser sintering (SLS) and weigh only 30 grams, about the same as a AA battery. The 3D printed frames come in four matte colors: black, antracite, green and bordeaux, while the lenses (which can be interchanged) are also available in a variety of hues. The ATTAAC Element cycling sunglasses are retailing for €189.

“In the spirit of transparency and accountability, we’ve carefully chosen materials that align with our commitment to eco-friendliness,” the ATTAAC team writes. “From plant-derived frames to lenses that combine cutting-edge technology with recycled components and rPET accessories, every pair of sunglasses embodies our unwavering commitment to being green.”

Altera Stealth

Italian brand Altera has leveraged metal additive manufacturing in the production of its Stealth eyewear collection. The sports frames, presented at MIDO 2025, were designed by Davide Librellotto who drew inspiration from the aerospace industry, resulting in frames that are robust and impact resistant.

The Stealth eyewear collection consists of a range of designs each tailored to a different type of sport. For example, the METAMORPH ZEROREVERB Z11 are designed for water sports like sailing, surfing, jet-skiing and more; the METAMORPH XENONFILTER W05 model was designed for road and off-road sports like cycling and motorcycle racing, as the lenses limit asphalt reflection. The stealth collection also includes METAMORPH KONTRAST T1000 for precision sports, METAMORPH PHOTOCHROM1C Ph5 for changing light conditions and METAMORPH OUTDOOR T20 for extreme weather conditions.

The 3D printed frames for the high-performance eyewear collection can be made from titanium or polymer. The titanium frames are made using Sisma’s MySint platform. Notably, the frames are designed to fit prescription lenses and can even adapt a 6-base frame into a 4-base frame using the ALTERA KINETIC SYSTEM.

POC Elicit Ti

POC, a Swedish company that makes skiing and cycling equipment including helmets and apparel, entered into the 3D printed eyewear market in 2023 with the launch of its Elicit Ti sunglasses for cycling. The high-performance frames, made from titanium, were manufactured in collaboration with EBM company AIM Sweden. Specifically, the frames are made from a medical-grade titanium that meets the strength, flexibility and weight requirements for a pair of high-performance eyewear. With sustainability in mind, the titanium used for the production of the eyewear is actually residual from other manufacturing processes.

When they launched the limited-edition Elicit Ti sunglasses, POC made only 365 units, weighing just 22 grams each. The frames retailed for €400, not significantly more than the classic Elicit sunglasses (€260) made from plastic. Notably, the Elicit design is actually frameless, meaning that the titanium 3D printed parts were actually the temples, which integrated a minimal truss structure “to enhance rigidity and keep the large Clarity lens firmly in place.”

The titanium frames were used by Team EF Education-EasyPost cyclists at the Giro d’Italia in May 2023, where rider Stefan de Bod commented on their weightlessness, saying “I hardly notice them.” For additional safety, these 3D printed glasses integrate slide-in joints that will separate the temples from the lenses if a rider falls (this feature also enables the wearer to change lenses).

suplest x ILEVE

Swiss cycling brands suplest introduced a cutting-edge eyewear product in 2022 in cooperation with cycling eyewear specialist Ileve District. The glasses, called N°3, weigh just 26 grams and are made from a 3D printed polyamide. The frames were launched in a very limited run of 99 units and were selling for €287.

Designed by suplest and engineered by Ileve District, the sunglasses are characterized by a dark, minimalist design with a large lens optimized for high contrast and depth perception. Their construction also features a screwless click-in hinge and adjustable temples. As the brands emphasize, these cycling sunglasses are fully made in Switzerland.

Adidas Sport

In 2021, sports giant Adidas launched its first pair of 3D printed sunglasses, the Adidas 3D CMPT. The frames, made from a flexible nylon with a rubberized coating, were designed and manufactured by Marcolin Group, an Italian company that makes eyewear for brands like Tom Ford, BMW, Guess and more. The frames feature a uniquely 3D printed design: not only are they made in a single piece, they integrate a spiraling, lattice structure, which weighs just 20 grams with the lenses and nose pads. The 3D CMPT were designed for athletes and at the time retailed for €350 ($415).

Interestingly, at this year’s MIDO eyewear event, Marcolin presented a new Adidas Sport collection. While the company did not explicitly mention the use of additive manufacturing in bringing this new collection to market, saying only “innovative manufacturing techniques combined with high-quality, lightweight materials characterize the adidas Sport eyewear models”, it does seem possible that 3D printing was used to make some final components for the sport frames—perhaps DWS‘ SLA technology.

Ultimately, 3D printing is still a niche manufacturing method when it comes to high-performance eyewear, but it does offer benefits that some smaller designers and even larger brands like Adidas are eager to capitalize on.