Ahead of the future - Futuristic elegance and lightness

Beate Leinz likes to work with different materials in her stylish eyewear designs, combining components from two different 3D printing processes.

The frame and temples are made of polyamide, while the front is printed from an acrylic-based resin. It is translucent and fully colored.

The gold-plated metal pad arms offer flexible adjustability and complete the aesthetic expression. The striking frames from Leinz are pleasantly light to wear.

The question always remained: how can transparency be achieved in a 3D-printing process to give eyewear more lightness and beauty?

LEINZ is one of the first eyewear brands using a newly developed 3D-printing technique named DLP to create a translucent, but printed material for eyewear design.

Using a complex, the design characterizing connecting system the translucent frame front is attached to the solid polyamide elements with raw appearance. The frames architecture and characteristic structural geometry with strong contrasts is a feature of the entire LEINZ collection.

In the established SLS 3D-printing process, the polyamid plastic powder is melted and compacted using a laser. The result is a matt material with a slightly rough surface that is dyed afterwards.

The new 3D technology is a further development of the known stereolithography process and uses a particular acrylic-based liquid resin that has proven its quality in dentistry.

What‘s new is that the resin is not only translucent, but also completely colored through.

LEINZ combines both technologies in one frame: we print the front using the new DLP process and the end piece-temple unit using the existing SLS printing process. Both materials are joined together with a plug-in connection and held in position by the pressure of the lens.
Using both technologies, the new DLP and the proven SLS process, enables us to create a new futuristic aesthetic in eyewear design.

3D printing offers us another advantage as a young company:

Small-batch production: 3D printing allows for more flexible color combinations without incurring high costs, as no large quantities of materials need to be purchased, unlike acetate production. This enables Leinz to easily adapt to trends. We can produce in small quantities and thus organize our stock levels according to demand. This is an important contribution to sustainable business.

Sustainability: The DLP process builds components layer by layer with pixel-based exposure, reusing unused liquid resin for future prints. This minimizes waste, with a CO2 footprint 90% lower than acetate production.

Another contribution to sustainability is our new glasses case, which is made from recycled leather leftovers in our authentic design.