There are things we never imagine ourselves doing. Things that seem completely abstract. For example, I never thought I would be testing and walking around in custom orthopedic insoles made on a 3D printer.
For the past few days, I’ve been breaking in a pair that arrived from Hungary. Printed in TPU, finished with an elegant leather top layer, with my name put on them.
This is one of those things that don’t look 3D printed at all. You’d need someone with several years of experience in the industry to even notice.
An insole like this isn’t a 3D print - it’s a finished, functional product.
I became their owner somehow by accident. I was in Budapest attending an industrial trade show together with 3Dee Hungary . On the last day of my trip, I went to see Batz Hungary Kft. - one of the Hungarian shoe companies that uses Bambu Lab 3D printers in its daily operations.
I walked out with my feet scanned and a promise that two weeks later I would receive my own custom insoles.
Which is exactly what happened.
And I found that remarkable. Because after 14 years of covering this industry, I’ve learned one thing: real-world applications of 3D printing rarely look the way startup presentations promised they would to potential investors.
The market for 3D printed insoles is changing rapidly right now. Quietly, without press releases. More and more pairs are being produced on standard FFF printers using increasingly specialized TPU materials. And hardly anyone is talking about it.
So let me ask a question that’s been on my mind ever since I returned from Budapest.
