Creating a mold from a scan using the Spentys footForma tool
Creating a precise mold from a scanned cast or foot is an essential part of the custom orthotic workflow. With Spentys’ footForma tool, this process becomes intuitive, accurate, and repeatable. The footForma tool exists of 2 chapters, the first being foot correction and the second being the mold generation/automation. In this tutorial, we walk you through each step of building a mold using a scanned cast, explaining not just how to use the tool, but also why each step matters.
Getting Started: Uploading and Preparing Your Scan
To get started, begin by uploading your scan. Create a new project folder and give it a clear name. Once the folder is created, upload your scan file and confirm that it has loaded correctly.
The spentys desktop application accepts some different formats (.obj ; .stl ; .ply). Please make sure to verify your file is the correct format.
In order to use the footForma software, you’ll have to select the ‘M2’ product code. Only this code will give you the ability to modify your scan and create your digital mold.
After the scan is uploaded, identify which side of the body the scan represents (e.g. the left foot). You wil also have to specify the measurement units (specific and different for each scanner. Once provided, you'll get the opportunity to validate the chosen units.
Please always double check the units before starting the correction step!
Scan cleanup
Begin the cleanup process by selecting the relevant part of the scan that you want to keep. This helps ensure that the software only processes the necessary areas and removes any unwanted noise or extra geometry.
Once the scan is cropped, You will see the new dimensions of the scan, clearly displayed in the bounding box. On the bottom on the left side, you'll find our robust smoothing function. this will smoothen the whole scan in general and allow you to also create an overal offset.
The robust smooth function can be very usefull to smoothen your cast-scan before going into the correction of the scan.
Landmarking and Initial Pose Correction
Next, we move on to positioning the anatomical landmarks. This includes locating the tibia and other key reference points that will guide the rest of the mold's orientation. These landmarks are critical for achieving correct anatomical alignment. Once the landmarks have been placed, the software will process these landmarks and generate the axis that can be used to correct the positioning of the mold. 
Aligning the Foot to a Neutral Position (chapter 1)
At this point, it’s time to refine the alignment further. The foot may still be slightly off-axis, so you’ll want to bring it into a neutral view. Begin by adjusting the base of the foot, then fine-tune the plantar and dorsal flexion by modifying the leg’s angle. It’s important to adjust this in multiple planes to ensure smooth, natural alignment. The software also allows you to correct for abduction angles and adjust for pronation. Foot rotation can be fine-tuned as well to make sure everything aligns with the intended axis.
Once the processing of the landmarks is done, the first thing we’ll have to do is align the mold with the axes. The goal is to align the foot with the x-axis, before aligning the calf with the y-axis. We first want to achieve a neutral position before we start adjusting the rest of the foot. The software will also allow you to correct the other articulations of the foot. 
To be able to start with the foot correction, you click on the icon and you can use the slider to adjust the positioning. The first 3 icons can be used to align the scan with the axis, the next 6 can be used to correct the positioning and place into a neutral pose. 
Generating and Refining the Mold (chapter 2)
Once the alignment meets your clinical objective, validate the setup and proceed to the mold generation phase. Before creating the mold, you’ll be prompted to add landmarks again, this time to assist in defining the structure of the mold. The first step of the mold generation is the reduction of the thickness of the cast.
If you’re working from a cast, it’s important to account for its thickness. You can apply a reduction factor depending on the overall thickness of the cast, to remove that outer layer and generate a mold that fits the actual limb dimensions.
If you’re working with an actual limb scan, you could use this feature to create some overall offset to foresee some space for padding in the end-product.
Be aware that adding or reducing the overall dimensions can have an impact on the scan and the fitting of the final device.
Calf reconstruction
This step will allow you to ad extra length to the scan, but also to straighten the calf. As you make the modifications, you'll always get a reference of the original scan to compare it to.
When the calf has been scanned, two sliders will be displayed:
-> Use the first slider to add extra length to the calf.
-> Use the second slider to straighten the calf.
When the calf has not been scanned, only one slider will be displayed:
-> Use the slider to add extra length to the calf.
Define and adjust the toebox
The fourth step in the mold generator allows you to make adjustments to the toe-box. On the left side of the screen you can see a variety of modifications possible to achieve the desired toe-box for your mold. The available modifications are:
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Define the perfect length of the toe-box by choosing the desired length to be added from the toes onward. |
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The width of the toe-box is defined by the landmarks we've placed at the initial step of the mold generator. Add more width by using this sliders and generate more space/offset at the Metatarsals. |
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The height of the toe-box is defined by the height of the instep between the landmarks placed in the initial step. You have the possibility to modify this feature here. |
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You have the possibility to add a lift angle toe the toe-box. This will be initiated from the metatarsals onward. |
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Define how squared you want to have the toe-box of your generated mold. |
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This feature will allow you to elevate the toe-box plane, which will create more contact with the surface. |
By clicking on 'plantar shape', we unveil our last feature of this step, which is our tool to flatten the plantar surface. Compared to the elevation of the toe-box, here we'll make the plantar surface more flat by adding material to the plantar part.
Once step four is done, we're able to apply a heel lift to our mold. Simply by using the slider or entering your desired heel lift and it will be automatically applied.
Custom buildup Adjustments
With the mold structure in place, the next step is to define custom zones. The goal here is to first define (by dragging and dropping the nodes) the exact region you’d modify. Once the zone is defined, you’ll be able to select the exact amount of build up required for that zone, by using the sliders. Once all the zones have been adapted, you’ll be able to start modifying the toe-box. 
The final validation step now allows you to verify the new measurements of the mold. This step is the final validation before we go to our final sculpting step.
Final Sculpting and Export
The final step is called the ‘sculpting step’. This step could be used to create some local buildups, outside of those we’ve created and chosen in the previous step. In this step you could create positive or negative local offset, simply by drawing on the scan and choosing the amount of buildup you’d like to use.
the indicated icon, before our 'average tool', has been replaced with a robust smooth brush. This feature will help you to smoothen the final result.
By following these steps, you'll generate a highly accurate and customized mold ready for downstream manufacturing. This workflow not only saves time but also ensures clinical precision every step of the way.
To see the process in action, watch a tutorial here.