3D Printing Residencies in Alicante

We are now offering individualized 3D printing residencies at our lab in Alicante, Spain.

You will work independently on our professional 3D printers with our expert support and follow self-paced video classes that are adjusted to your level and needs. This approach makes the residencies suitable for all levels, from absolute beginners to 3D printing professionals.

Scroll down for more info on the various options.

¡Disponibile también en español. Puedes rellenar el formulario en español!

Choose your ideal residency

You can book any date you want, as long as your residency starts on a Monday and ends on a Friday. You can choose between a residency of 1 week, 2 weeks or a full month. Want to do a residency after Footwearise, from December 8-12? Let us know, we can open the lab for it!

1 Week - 3D Printing Residency

Who is this for:
  • Beginners without any experience in 3D printing or 3D modeling
  • Brands or independent designers that have a 3D model that is ready to print without needing much repair or adjustments.
  • What you will do: self‑paced video lessons (if needed) + structured printer trials with staff support.
  • Support: onboarding on Day 1; short daily check‑ins; on‑demand help for slicing, materials, troubleshooting.
  • Outcomes: calibrated settings for various printing materials, a solid knowledge of how 3D printing works for footwear, and workflows you can repeat at your own home or workplace. If you do not have your own 3D shoe model you will use one of ours.
  • Schedule: Mon–Fri, 09:30–18:00.

  • Price: From €650 (incl. VAT and materials), payment plan of 3 instalments available, fill out and submit the form and then click the pink button below to book.

2 Weeks - 3D Printing Residency

Who is this for:
  • Anyone who wants to print multiple renditions of their own 3D shoe model
  • Brands or independent designers that have 1 or more 3D models to print and need help with ideal settings/materials or optimization of the models.
  • What you will do: bring your own designs; complete multiple iterations and finishing.
  • Support: daily goal‑setting; material and slicing advice; troubleshooting. We can offer support in Rhino if needed, not in other softwares.
  • Outcomes: 3–5 iterations across components  (upper/mid/outsole) or at least 2 pairs of full shoes (depending on complexity), validated print parameters and repeatable workflows.
  • Schedule: Mon–Fri, two consecutive weeks.

  • Price: From €950 (incl. VAT but excluding materials). You either have to bring your own materials or we charge you the cost price of each roll you use, since you will be printing a lot in these weeks. Payment plan of 3 instalments available, fill out and submit the form and then click the pink button below to book.

1 Month - 3D Printing Residency

Who is this for:
  • Brands or independent designers that want to develop a full 3D printing project with multiple renditions of multiple designs and need access to expert advice and professional machines they might not have themselves.
  • What you will do: bring your own designs; complete multiple iterations and finishing.
  • Support: daily goal‑setting; material and slicing advice; troubleshooting. We can offer support in Rhino if needed, not in other softwares.
  • Outcomes: 5-10 iterations across components  (upper/mid/outsole) or at least 4 pairs of full shoes (maybe more depending on complexity), validated print parameters and repeatable workflows.
  • Schedule: Mon–Fri, four consecutive weeks.


  • Price: From €1150 (including VAT but excluding materials). You either have to bring your own materials or we charge you the cost price of each roll you use, since you will be printing a lot in this month. Payment plan of 4 instalments available, fill out and submit the form and then click the pink button below to book.

This is our new lab in Alicante:

We have a fully equipped lab with a wide variety of FDM 3D printers (scroll down for the full list) and a material library of almost all suitable filaments and pellets for footwear printing,  Besides that, we have an extensive library of footwear, art and design books to read while your prints get ready. You can choose to work next to your printer or choose a quiet spot on the first floor, overlooking the water.
Footwearology Lab is the perfect place to combine work with holiday. It is close to the centre, in walking distance of great restaurants and shops and with an inspiring view of the Mediterranean Sea from all windows. You just walk down some steps and you are at the beach. Temperatures in Alicante are rarely below 20 degrees Celsius. 

These are the printers currently available in our lab:

All of them are available for participants in our residencies, but we do not recommend all of them for beginners.

Elegoo Neptune 4 Max (several)
Ideal for textiles due to the large bed

Lugolabs H1
Multi-material printer with 4 nozzles, specialized for flexible materials

Bambulab H2D
able to print 2 flexible or 4 rigid materials at once on a large bed

Bambu Lab X1
able to print 1 flexible or 4 rigid materials at once on a medium size bed


FLSun V400 (several)
suitable for printing monomaterial shoes very fast

WASP 4070FX Pellet Printer
suitable for printing very soft materials on a large bed and for larger objects, such as boots

Direct 3D F30 Pellet Printer
Suitable for printing very soft materials on a medium size bed

Ultimaker Factor 4
Industrial printer, suitable for printing two flexible materials at the same time

Some examples from previous residencies:

Karla Lopez has a factory for espadrilles and sandals in Puerto Rico and wanted to make a commercial 3D printed sandal. We taught her how to 3D print textiles and helped her to use a horizontal (flat) way of printing her sandals that does not need any support material at all, so they could be produced at her factory in less time than it takes for her regular sandals to be made.
Being an experienced computational  designer,  Franziska Hagenauer already had a 3D model of a shoe with a wedge heel. We helped her to slightly redesign it so we could teach her a complex but effective method for slicing in multiple densities. We made the outer surface look textured, while having a strong and dense core in the heel, yet with a very open and soft infill in the remaining parts to keep down the weight of the shoe and increase comfort.
Calvian Thomas Berget has a background in graphic design, which is apparent in his designs. We helped him translate his ideas into a modular shoe that is printed in parts - both vertical and horizontal - keeping down printing time and optimizing for sustainability. He was able to create a full collection with interchangeable, repairable parts. The photo shows only a few of the models he made.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need 3D modeling experience?

Not for the Beginner track (you’ll use our provided models). Yes if you want to print your own designs. In that case, either complete our Rhino course or show prior work. We do need to check your designs to see if they are printable, so you will need to send them to us ahead of time, at least 7 days before you arrive.

Will you also still organize 3D printing courses?

We have decided to not teach 3D printing group courses anymore, since it was difficult to find dates when everyone could join and we also had issues with the big differences in 3D printing and modeling experience among participants. We feel that we can offer a much better service with the residencies.

Which softwares do you support?

Rhino is our default. 3D Printing Residencies are not meant to teach 3D modeling - you can follow our Rhino course for that - but we can review meshes from other tools if they are watertight and printable.

How are materials billed?

By spool (e.g., 0.75 kg TPU) or per gram. We’ll weigh parts and offcuts. You can also choose to bring your own materials. We can discuss with you ahead of time which materials might be most suited for your project and how much you might need of them.

Can I get a dedicated printer?

We can discuss that based upon your project. Most of our printers are suitable for a multitude of projects. If one specific printer needs to be fully reserved for the entire duration of your project, then this depends on availability, since the printers are also used for our customers.

Can teams attend?

Yes, but please contact us for that, because we have limited availability. We are able to offer residencies for company teams as well, but then we reserve that time and cannot take any other residencies for those dates.

Do you offer after-hours or weekends?

Sometimes, but with a surcharge and safety constraints. Please ask during booking.

Who owns the IP to the designs that are printed during the residency?

You do. We can sign an NDA if required. We don’t claim rights to your designs.

What about cancellations or rescheduling?

Usually we will aim to reschedule if you are not able to come. If you want to fully cancel your residency, then we can only offer a full refund if you cancel no less than 30 days before arrival. Partial refunds might be granted based upon the situation.

Do you offer or recommend accommodation?

We do not, but there are many affordable options for accommodation in Alicante and almost everything is in walking distance, so we usually just advise to search something for your preferences near our lab, which is in Calle Virgen de la Socorro 35.
Footwearology is an international footwear innovation platform. We have 4 pillars: research, consulting, training and events. We enable you to gain the knowledge that will get you, and the companies you work for, ready to create and embrace a better future. All our courses take place online and/or in our LAB in Alicante, Spain.

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