Patent attributes
Various articles, such as footwear, apparel, athletic equipment, watchbands, and the like, and methods of forming those articles are presented. The articles are generally formed, in whole or in part, using rapid manufacturing techniques, such as laser sintering, stereolithography, solid deposition modeling, and the like. The use of rapid manufacturing allows for relatively economical and time efficient manufacture of customized articles. Portions of the articles may be manufactured using rapid manufacturing and those portions may be joined with portions formed using conventional, non-rapid manufacturing techniques. The methods may also include performing a scan of an appropriate body part of a user, such as a foot, in order to create a customized article of footwear for the user.