System and methods for designing and manufacturing bespoke protective sports equipment

A method for manufacturing a bespoke protective sports helmet to be worn by a player while playing a sports activity, comprising:

• capturing a scan of a player's head with the scanning apparatus;
• aligning the scan relative to a reference surface that is associated with a selected helmet size within the three-dimensional software;
• modifying the aligned scan of the player's head based on the player's playing position or playing level to create a modified scan of the player's head that includes moving the aligned scan of the player's head either towards a front region or a rear region of the helmet;
• forming a bespoke pad based on the modified scan of the player's head;
• and
• installing the bespoke pad into a protective sports helmet shell.

A method of assembling a protective sports helmet to be worn by a player while participating in a sports activity, comprising:

• placing a scanning helmet on the player's head;
• capturing a helmet scan of the player wearing the scanning helmet;
• removing the scanning helmet from the player's head;
• capturing a head scan of the player head;
• aligning the head scan relative to the helmet scan to form a registered head scan within a three-dimensional software;
• comparing the registered head scan of the player's head against a reference surface within the three-dimensional software to confirm that the head scan does not penetrate the reference surface;
• inwardly adjusting the registered head scan of the player's head by a predetermined amount within the three-dimensional software to create an inset head scan;
• selecting a pad from a group of pads based on the inset head scan;
• and
• installing the selected pad into a protective sports helmet shell.