Footwork Podiatric Laboratory

Choosing Footwork as your orthotic supplier means providing your clients with the best custom made, pre-cast or cycling orthotics crafted to the highest levels of precision. Footwork offers podiatrists end-to-end solutions, from the availability of fellow podiatrists to discuss your prescription requirements, right through to the knowledge needed to create a high-quality orthotic. With 25 years in the podiatry industry and always operated by podiatrists, Footwork has long been regarded as the leading manufacturer of premium foot orthoses in Australia. Over the first 14 years of operation, Footwork used traditional plaster work and vacuum systems for manufacturing foot orthoses. From 2008, Footwork adopted a new custom-built CAD-CAM system and utilised class-leading CNC machining to manufacture foot orthoses. Whilst CNC machining produced exceptionally well-finished and contoured foot orthoses, the volume of plastic waste was undesirable. In addition, CNC machining was somewhat restricted by tool path trajectories that meant some intricate orthotic modifications required further hand-finishing to achieve a desired shape. To combat the high-volume waste and limitations of CNC, Footwork made a full transition to additive 3D print manufacturing in 2019 using the world-class HP Fusion Jet printer. Footwork’s transition to 3D printing was carefully planned over a 3-year strategic planning process. Rather than simply migrating over existing (or generically available) systems, Footwork’s software engineers designed a new purpose-built CAD system to maximise the capability of 3D print technology. In conjunction with the move to 3D printing, Footwork were first to adopt the premium material used in orthotic manufacturing ‘PA11 nylon’. With a solid history, and a driven company culture of customer service, quality and technology, we look forward to being your orthotic manufacturer of choice.