Player concussions and brain damage continue to be a serious issue for the National Football League (NFL), which has taken steps to improve outcomes and minimise risk for players across the league. One such step was taken in 2022 with the introduction of guardian caps. Now, however, following the results of recent helmet testing, players are increasingly opting to wear “guardian-cap-optional helmets”, all of which leverage 3D printing in some way.
If you follow American football, you’re likely familiar with guardian caps, the soft-shell headgear that is attached to the outside of a traditional helmet to increase impact absorption and ultimately minimise the risk of concussions. Guardian caps were invented in 2010 but saw a significant roll out in 2022, when the NFL made the protective equipment mandatory in pre-season practices. Now, players even have the option of wearing the guardian caps in season games, a practice which has so far been limited to a small number of players, including Kylen Granson from the Colts, James Daniels from the Steelers and Jabrill Peppers from the Patriots.
As of recently, however, more and more players are turning away from wearing guardian caps in favor of high-performance helmets, which have been deemed by the NFL to be guardian-cap optional. This is in part due to the increasing protection offered by these helmets as well as preferences against guardian caps, which many players have deemed too heavy or too hot.
3D printed multi-density lattices add extra impact mitigation in the Xenith Orbit Pro (Xenith)
“For most helmets adding a guardian cap, an extra layer of padding, will reduce the force of each blow by somewhere between 10 and 15%. Now there is a subset of helmets that we tagged as guardian-cap optional. And the reason for that was that those helmets in the laboratory testing showed that there really was not additional benefit of that magnitude by adding a guardian cap,” explained Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s Chief Medical Officer, in an interview with CBS Sports. “In other words, the helmet itself was doing as good a job of mitigating the force as a regular helmet plus a guardian cap. So adding a guardian cap to those helmets did not show that same 10 to 15% benefit.”
To date, the NFL has included six helmet models in this exemption category based on the results of extensive lab testing. Interestingly to us, each of these helmet models integrates some degree of 3D printing to enhance the padding performance. The six helmets are:
- Riddell Axiom 3D QB
- Riddell Axiom 3D
- Riddell Axiom 3D OL/DL
- VICIS Zero2 Trench Matrix ID 2024
- VICIS Zero2 Trench LP Matrix ID 2024
- Xenith Orbit Pro
Riddell Axiom 3D helmets were introduced in April 2024 and combine the sports equipment manufacturer’s Axiom helmet technology with 3D printed lattice liner technology. These helmets, custom fit to the player using 3D scanning, integrate lattice padding made using Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology. According to the company, these leading helmets leverage its proprietary Tru-Fit technology to “create an individualised combination of energy-managing interior padding with unique thicknesses, shapes, and contours, providing comfort and protection benefits.”
Riddell AXIOM 3D with 3D printed lattices from Carbon (Riddell)
Carbon’s 3D printing technology has also been adopted by VICIS in the production of its high-performance VICIS Zero2 Trench Matrix ID 2024 and VICIS Zero2 Trench LP Matrix ID 2024 helmets. In this case, Carbon’s DLS process and EPU 45 material are used to print “interchangeable fit pods”, or MATRIX pads, based on VICIS’ proprietary lattice design, which are optimized for player fit and protection.
Xenith, for its part, has integrated 3D printed padding into the Xenith Orbit Pro for a protective piece of gear with minimal weight. This helmet integrates Xenith’s unique Adaptive Fit System as well as 3D printed lattice padding. This multi-density lattice layer “floats” between a shell layer and interior ONE-FIT padding, helping to minimise rotational and linear impacts. Notably, Xenith Orbit Pro helmet will be on display at Formnext 2024 at Forward AM’s booth.
These guardian-cap-optional helmets have reportedly been chosen by over 240 players, and almost 200 players are opting to wear position-specific helmets, which can also better mitigate impact through specifically placed padding. As these high-performance helmets set a new standard, it will be interesting to see how data around concussions and head injuries develops. However, as the NFL points out, even the current “adoption numbers reflect a high rate of players opting to move into new helmets, relative to past seasons.”