Engineered to Flex Designed to Protect
Protection should work smarter, not harder. Our advanced impact-absorbing polymer material and manufacturing empowers the sports apparel, industrial protection, aerospace, medical, and security industries to create lighter, stronger, and safer gear for high-impact environments. Designed to bring bold ideas to life, FlexShock™ delivers elevated comfort, performance, and confidence for the people who rely on it every day.
What We Offer
We bring together smart design, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and proprietary materials to create impact protection that’s lighter, stronger, and faster to produce.
Direct Printing
Our innovative process allows us to 3D print parts directly onto a flexible substrate. That means we can 3D print FlexShock™ and a wide range of polymers onto fabric sheets. This game changer unlocked a new standard in the production and design of protective apparel and gear across sports, maintenance, manufacturing, and security sectors.
FlexShock™ Impact Material
FlexShock™ is our proprietary impact protection material designed to absorb and disperse force when impact happens. It flexes, reforms, and keeps working, helping reduce shock while staying durable. Compared to traditional materials, FlexShock™ is 30% thinner and 60% lighter, with tough protection.
Patented Lattice Design
Using advance 3D printing, we engineered a patented, Penrose-inspired lattice structure with FlexShock™. Penrose Tiling uses a unique geometric design that excels at absorbing impact through destructive interference of shockwaves. Compared to traditional hexagonal designs, mathematical modelling shows a 46% increase in impact protection efficiency. This allows Tech21 to either use less material for the same performance or achieve significantly better protection with the same amount.
Tooling-Free, On-Demand Manufacturing
Our tooling-free manufacturing process lets us 3D print FlexShock™ directly onto fabrics. This means faster production, more design freedom, less waste, and the ability to create custom solutions on demand, without the delays or costs of traditional tooling.
HOW YOU BENEFIT
Our unified platform for materials, design, and proprietary manufacturing helps you bring products to market faster and with greater precision. Onsite production reduces lead times and logistics complexity, enabling quicker time-to-market and improved sustainability outcomes.
HERE'S HOW WE DO THAT:
3D print directly onto fabrics eliminating the need for stitching
No tooling required
Supports design updates in matter of days not weeks
Simplified Supply Chain
No MOQs required
Opportunity for local manufacturing
Patented Penrose Tiling architecture provides superior impact protection
Case study
A leading U.S. oil and gas manufacturer needed gloves that could handle extreme temperatures, from -20°C to over 50°C, without sacrificing comfort or performance. They came to us after seeing FlexShock™ prove itself in real-world conditions, when a phone protected by a Tech21 case was dropped and showed no damage.
To meet this challenge, we invested in R&D to develop the technology needed to bond our FlexShock™ material directly to fabric, leveraging 3D design and manufacturing to create the most lightweight and durable gloves on the market.
The result is a glove that delivered superior protection and reliability for workers. By leveraging advanced onshore production methods, these gloves not only surpass traditional alternatives in durability and safety but are also produced faster and at a fraction of the cost; proving that high-performance gear does not require compromises.
Tech21 is a British company founded in 2005 and headquartered in London, established to develop superior impact protection materials and structures. We began as a consumer electronics company, best known for designing impact-protective cases and accessories for smartphones, tablets, and other devices. In partnership with the National Physical Laboratory, we serve as an innovation and R&D partner to leading brands, providing expertise in additive manufacturing, materials, engineering, and product design.