Rapid Manufacturing (RM) is increasingly becoming a viable manufacturing process due
to dramatic advantages that it facilitates in the area of design complexity. Through the
exploration of the design freedom afforded by RM, this paper introduces the concept and initial
research surrounding Impact Absorbent Rapid Manufactured Structures (IARMS), with an
application in sports personal protective equipment (PPE). Designs are based on the cellular
structure of foams; the inherent advantages of the cellular structure are used as a basis to create
IARMS that have the potential to be optimised for a specific impact absorbent response. The
paper provides some initial results from compression testingMechanical Engineerin
