A digital twin is a digital model of an intended or actual real-world physical product (its physical twin) that serves as the effectively indistinguishable digital counterpart of it for practical purposes.

In the context of footwear manufacturing the digital twin of a shoe is the assembly of the pattern engineering data, tooling 3D model and, when available, the virtual prototype for visualization and rendering.

The hidden cost of a physical sample

A common misconception in the footwear industry is that physical samples are cheaper and indispensable compared to virtual prototypes. This belief stems from cases where virtual prototypes are outsourced, making the claim partially true. While physical samples may have lower initial costs, their expenses increase with each design iteration.

Decisions on colorways or material options could often be made using virtual samples, reducing reliance on physical ones. A similar debate occurred in the 1990s with the shift from paper patterns to digital tools. Initially resisted due to perceived costs and complexity, the advantages became clear as software improved, enabling faster and more iterative designs. Today, while many industry leaders benefit from virtual prototypes, some remain resistant to change, stuck in traditional processes.

The virtual prototype serves two functions, the first is to be a digital representation of the shoe. The second is a hub of all the production and engineering information of the shoe.

Any change that is performed in any of the other parts of the process (i.e. patterns and 3d models) should be reflected into the virtual prototype and that should serve as the reference for the construction of the shoe. Using Rhino with Botcha and Jevero this became not only possible but easy and accessible.