Phoenix Hipwear and impctLAB Harness Carbon Technology to Transform the Way Hips are Protected

Hip protection has traditionally focused on the frail, more senior end of the market, for those living in care who have a high fall and fracture risk. These hip protectors primarily use foam technologies or other impact protection materials that are bulky, uncomfortable, and difficult to use. Natasha Williams, founder and CEO of Phoenix Hipwear, successfully designed and produced traditional hip protection that was an improvement on the older style shields already on the market; however, the product still had limitations and was only suitable for residents in senior living communities.

As an Ambassador for the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation, Williams knew it wasn’t just seniors at risk. Younger women and men (55+) diagnosed with low bone density are at risk of hip fractures but want to maintain their active lives–continuing to hike, bike, ski, and travel along with playing sports such as pickleball and tennis. While not frail or a fall risk, this demographic is considered at risk of fracture when undertaking these activities, so Williams knew they would be looking for solutions to keep their hips safe.

She was right. Younger people started trying out her traditional hip shields in an effort to protect their hips, but the feedback was exactly as expected. The shields weren’t comfortable or easy to wear in the course of these people’s active lifestyles. One such customer explained:

“I’m 64, 5’2″, and barely 90 pounds, and have osteoporosis. I own and operate my own restaurant and like to cross-country ski and hike in the mountains of Utah where I live. So I’m not a sedentary person and don’t consider myself a senior yet :). I want to stay active and would love to have a product that could give me a little more confidence when I’m outside doing my sports.”
Joeline E.

Williams believed that advances in material technologies and innovations in manufacturing had to offer answers for what she knew her customers wanted. She reached out to impctLAB to work on a design for a thinner, more discreet, more comfortable, high-performing hip shield that could fit into the lives of this younger population that still had a fracture risk. Ultimately, Phoenix Hipwear and impctLAB chose to use Carbon technology to meet this goal.

A hip fracture is a devastating event, with nine out of ten hip fractures the result of a simple fall from standing height. It’s not just the elderly that are at risk; according to the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation, one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 will fracture a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime. The results of a hip fracture are life-changing, with about a quarter of those dying in the first 12 months after a hip fracture, another quarter going from hospital to care and never returning to their own home, and the remaining 50% having an impact on their mobility. Six months after a hip fracture, only 15% can walk across a room unaided.

To create a hip protection solution that would actually be worn, there needed to be a complete overhaul of what hip protection looked like, how it performed, and how people talked about it. Phoenix Hipwear spoke to their younger customers and made sure that they understood all the ways that hip protection needed to be improved. After creating their wish list of what they needed to achieve, the team began exploring the various options, and it became clear that Carbon had the best solution.

“This is a paradigm shift! Moving from bulky foam shields housed in unattractive, medical-style garments, our new Phoenix Hipwear shield is slim, breathable, and flexible, held in place in the pockets of stylish sports shorts that can be worn on their own or under leggings or any other clothing. This is hip protection to be excited about!”
Natasha WilliamsFounder & CEO, Phoenix Hipwear

• The thinnest shield possible that still provides superior impact protection.
• A lightweight, flexible, and form-fitting design that could have ventilation to allow the shield to be worn during activities without becoming uncomfortable.
• A streamlined manufacturing process to maximize efficiencies, including short lead times and low minimum order quantities with the ability to scale as the business grows.
• Local manufacturing to reduce shipping complexities:

• • Currently in the US
  • Ability to print in any new international market to allow for easy global expansion

impctLAB focuses on designing and engineering products that manage physical impacts, like helmets and body armor. These solutions have typically been produced with traditional materials and manufacturing processes, such as poured or molded foams. This greatly limits the performance and geometry of product design and more often than not requires a large upfront cash and time barrier. The team at impctLAB paid close attention to the advancements in additive manufacturing and quickly identified Carbon as a breakout technology that was making materials that fit well in their niche market.

“We needed a partner that we could work holistically with. We found Carbon to be well-established and vertically integrated, making it that much easier to move the entire product development process from concept to production.”
Kenneth Perkins CEO and Co-Founder of impctLAB

Working with Carbon directly, impctLAB quickly iterated different designs for different use cases while fine-tuning and validating the performance. This allowed Phoenix to choose exactly which attributes and performance mattered the most. Carbon Design Engine software enabled visualization of how the design would transition from the traditionally-manufactured part to the 3D-printed part. With the help of Carbon engineers, impctLAB became more and more self-sufficient with the program, which allowed easier exploration of possible solutions.

“A major benefit to developing this type of technology is that the prototyping phase is representative of the final production product at a much higher level than traditional manufacturing methods. This level of accuracy between the two critical development phases allows us to understand the performance and the manufacturability of the product much earlier, speeding up the process.”
Casey Charron Lead Engineer and Co-Founder of impctLAB

Fortunately, the design of Phoenix’s existing shield needed only small adjustments to become printable, which allowed the aesthetic and design registration to remain intact. impctLAB trimmed the outer flanges so that four shields could fit per build and utilized a flat flange back to attach to the build plate. Instead of a pad-printed logo (which would require an extra process), they adopted a debossed logo. Additionally, they added chamfers to the outer edges of the design. This is something that had not been possible in the previous design, but improved the slimness of the design, allowing it to sit more comfortably against the body.

Phoenix Hipwear was on a mission to find a US-based manufacturing partner with expertise in lattice structures. Their goal was clear: to create a product that embodied the “Made in the USA” ethos while delivering performance and comfort for those with active lifestyles. US-based Aprios in the Carbon Production Network fit the requirements.

The EPU lattice design provided an easy-to-clean, breathable, and lightweight solution with a low-profile structure ideal for supporting more dynamic movement. Throughout the prototyping phase, the collaboration between Phoenix Hipwear, impctLAB, Aprios, and Carbon proved crucial in fine-tuning the production process and optimizing the durometer of the hip shields.

“We learned so much through this process, especially about latticing, post-processing, and cleaning parts with lattice structures. We’re proud that this effort contributes to both comfort and protection for our loved ones.”
Ray Schenk Sr. Sales Engineer for Aprios

The manufacturing process involved several key steps, including initial printing, spinning the parts to remove excess resin, hand touch-ups, and oven baking. Carbon’s L1 printer and a specialized part spinner were integral to ensuring clean, well-formed lattice components.

One of the main engineering challenges was managing excess resin trapped in the lattice and perfecting the hip pad’s durometer. However, the team’s determination and collaboration overcame these hurdles. The entire development process took about six months.

“No one has ever built a product quite like this before. While there were certainly challenges and missteps along the way, each one contributed to the final success of the project.”
Tom Venable Chief Commercial Officer at Aprios

While there is no international standard for hip protection, there are several widely-accepted guidelines that Phoenix Hipwear followed to test the efficacy of the shield. One of them is an impact performance-based requirement outlined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for hip protectors. This standard requires that, when applying 7 kN of force onto the hip protector, the hip protector must reduce the force to below 3.1 kN, which is the average force needed to fracture a 75-year-old female’s hip. Phoenix chose to also condition the shield to 98 degrees Fahrenheit before testing to best represent the effects of body temperature when the shields are in use. In tests performed by impctLAB, the Phoenix Hipwear shield successfully reduced the force by 64% to 2.5 kN. [KP1]

The shields were also tested to the EN1621-1 standard for motorcycle body protection. This standard requires that when applying 50 J of impact energy to the hip protector, the mean transmitted force must be below 35 kN, and no single value should be over 50 kN. The Phoenix Hipwear shield passed the requirements, with a mean force of about 23 kN and a maximum force of about 26 kN.

While testing confirms the impact protection capabilities, Phoenix wanted to be able to show customers in simple terms that with the shield in place, their hips would be much better protected than without it.

impctLAB simplified the hip shield’s raw materials, production, and logistics. Using Carbon’s platform, materials, and lattice structures, they tuned the design in ways they were previously unable to do. Design elements like thickness, weight, and stiffness could be adjusted while maintaining performance metrics. Specifically, the Carbon-produced hip protectors are thinner and lighter, but perform in biomechanical tests similarly to much thicker, larger, and heavier shields.

Table 1. Comparison of hip shield models

The final Phoenix Active shields are light (~55 g), thin (10 mm), flexible, breathable, and high-performing. These shields can easily and comfortably be worn under leggings or any normal clothing without being bulky and uncomfortable.

The feedback from users (including from Joeline E. from the beginning of this story) has been very positive in the areas that were trouble spots with traditional hip protectors. They are slim and comfortable enough to be worn during a daily routine and more active pursuits.

“I’m happy to say that I wear Phoenix HIpwear every time I mountain bike, which is about 3 times a week. These protect without getting in the way. I’ve had one scary bike crash this summer…I’m very happy with the product. It saved my hip last month in a direct hit with a boulder in a mountain bike fall in the Utah desert. I would be foolish to ride without my shields. I plan on using them this winter for cross country skiing too.”
Joeline E.

“I continue to like the hip protection and specifically use them for playing pickleball. When done playing, many times I forget that I have them on.”
Sandy H.

Phoenix Hipwear is now taking pre-orders for their Active Sports Garment with 3D Printed Shield. Click here to find out more.