The Problem

Recognizing the growing popularity of the sport, along with the inherent challenges with many pickleball products on the market today, the primary pain points are:

• Over time and with frequent use, the standard rigid design can become brittle, break in half, or become warped compromising the length of use and accuracy for play

• The material used in most products creates too much noise for use in densely populated areas, or indoors where sound is trapped

• Multiple ball designs have been created for either indoor or outdoor use, but very few if any solutions that allow both

• Most existing balls work better for warmer climates than colder climates where the balls do not perform as well or last as long

Being experts in additive manufacturing, we saw an opportunity to design the first 3D printed pickleball for the sporting industry. We led the ideation and consulted with HP®, a leading global provider of additive manufacturing equipment, to co-invent this patent-pending product.