Wilson's 3D-Printed Basketball Never Goes Flat

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Wilson has been working to redesign the basketball with a prototype that's covered in an intricate pattern of holes but never goes flat. Although calling the basketball "airless" is a bit of a misnomer given air is still able to pass right through it, it's the most common term that's been used to describe this technology that replaces the need for pressurized bladders in objects designed to bounce or absorb impacts. Wilson partnered with a company called EOS which specializes in the use of 3D printing for industrial uses including medical and aerospace applications, to manufacture the unorthodox basketball design that's covered in a pattern of open hexagons instead of sealed leather panels. EOS relied on additive 3D printing technology which, instead of building up layers of extruded melted plastic, uses a powdered resin that's hardened by a laser to create ultra-thin stacked layers with even more detail. The result is a completely hollow basketball that nearly matches the "performance specifications of a regulation basketball, including its weight, size and rebound (bounce)." The 3D-printed ball can even be dyed in various colors, with the prototype being made all-black for its debut during the 2023 NBA All-Star Game festivities this past weekend. "The NBA currently doesn't have any plans to switch to Wilson's 3D-printed airless basketball design, but that doesn't mean it's a failure," notes Gizmodo. "[E]ven if it never finds its way into the NBA, it could still help make the game more accessible on playground courts across the country where pick-up games will never have to be canceled because no one can find a pump to fix a flat ball." The company explains how the prototype basketball was made in a video on YouTube.

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