Central Saint Martins graduate Noé Chouraqui has developed Level, a 3D-printed tennis ball made out of bio-based, recyclable filament. The balls preserve the standard neon-yellow look and ringed design of typical tennis balls however use plant-derived PLA-HR filament as an alternative of the usual hole rubber core coated in felt.
Chouraqui created Level as his closing 12 months challenge within the Product and Industrial Design course at CSM. He recognized sustainability as a key concern, noting that over 300 million tennis balls are produced yearly worldwide, with every ball taking 400 years to decompose.
“The balls are made out of a filament referred to as Excessive Resilience PLA (PLA-HR) – it’s a bio-based and recyclable filament made out of plant-derived supplies, primarily corn starch,” Chouraqui advised Dezeen. “PLA-HR is eco-friendly, as it’s compostable below industrial circumstances and has a decrease carbon footprint than conventional plastics.”
The designer maintained the recognizable visible components of conventional tennis balls for sensible and regulatory causes. “It was essential to protect the attribute options of tennis balls in order that the product would instantly be recognized as a tennis ball, fairly than simply some other ball,” he mentioned. The fluorescent yellow-green colour adheres to Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF) requirements, which solely acknowledge tennis balls on this colour.
Level balls underwent official testing by Jamie Capel Davies, Head of Science and Technical on the ITF. The findings indicated that the aerodynamic efficiency of the 3D-printed balls intently matches that of conventional tennis balls. Based on Chouraqui, the ITF Technical Fee is at present reviewing Level’s knowledge and contemplating regulatory changes to doubtlessly settle for sustainable alternate options in official matches.
Supply: dezeen.com
