An article of footwear and a method of manufacturing the article of footwear are disclosed. The footwear may include an upper and a sole structure. The upper incorporates a textile element with edges that are joined together to define at least a portion of a void for receiving a foot. Various warp or weft knitting processes, including flat knitting, may be utilized to form the textile element.

A manufacturing process involving a series of discrete operations can be modified by adding, removing, or reordering operations, without design changes to the equipment. The manufacturing process uses a frame comprising one or more alignment tabs. Each alignment tab comprises an alignment element. The alignment element interacts with a corresponding alignment element at a manufacturing station to identify to the manufacturing station the position and orientation of the frame. The frame supports a material in a known position and orientation relative to the frame, allowing the manufacturing station to infer the position and orientation of the pliable material on the frame from the interaction of the alignment elements on the frame and the manufacturing station. The operations at any particular manufacturing station can therefore be positioned independent of what operations, if any, have come before, or in what order.

A manufacturing process involving a series of discrete operations can be modified by adding, removing, or reordering operations, without design changes to the equipment. The manufacturing process uses a frame comprising one or more alignment tabs. Each alignment tab comprises an alignment element. The alignment element interacts with a corresponding alignment element at a manufacturing station to identify to the manufacturing station the position and orientation of the frame. The frame supports a material in a known position and orientation relative to the frame, allowing the manufacturing station to infer the position and orientation of the pliable material on the frame from the interaction of the alignment elements on the frame and the manufacturing station. The operations at any particular manufacturing station can therefore be positioned independent of what operations, if any, have come before, or in what order.

Methods and systems are disclosed for three-dimensional printing directly onto an article of apparel. Disclosed is a method and system for direct three-dimensional printing onto an article of apparel, including positioning at least a portion of the article on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray, printing a three-dimensional material directly onto the article using a three-dimensional pattern, curing the printed material, and removing the article from the three-dimensional printing system.

Methods and systems are disclosed for three-dimensional printing directly onto an article of apparel. Disclosed is a method and system for direct three-dimensional printing onto an article of apparel, including positioning at least a portion of the article on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray, printing a three-dimensional material directly onto the article using a three-dimensional pattern, curing the printed material, and removing the article from the three-dimensional printing system.

The present invention discloses a method for manufacturing an artificial leather shoe upper which comprises steps of preparing plural pieces of artificial leather upper material, setting a thermoforming machine, placing the plural pieces of artificial leather upper material in the thermoforming machine, pumping out excess air of a lower die block of the thermoforming machine, thermoforming the plural pieces of artificial leather upper material to obtain a semi-finished product, and demoulding, image recognition, laser cutting and coloring the semi-finished product to obtain the artificial leather shoe upper.

The present invention generally relates to methods of printing articles using three-dimensional printing and other printing techniques, and to articles formed from such techniques, including the printing of articles of footwear containing particles. Certain embodiments are generally directed to composites comprising particles (e.g., reinforcing particles), for example, rubber particles. The particles may be used, for example, to increase slip or abrasion resistance. The composites may also contain polyurethanes or other compounds, e.g., to facilitate fabrication, e.g., using three-dimensional printing and other printing techniques. Other embodiments are directed to methods of making or using such articles. For example, in some embodiments, a composite may be prepared by mixing particles (e.g., reinforcing particles) with at least a first fluid and a second fluid within a nozzle, such as a microfluidic printing nozzle, which may be used to direct the resulting product onto a substrate.

The present invention generally relates to methods of printing articles using three-dimensional printing and other printing techniques, and to articles formed from such techniques, including the printing of articles of footwear containing particles. Certain embodiments are generally directed to composites comprising particles (e.g., reinforcing particles), for example, rubber particles. The particles may be used, for example, to increase slip or abrasion resistance. The composites may also contain polyurethanes or other compounds, e.g., to facilitate fabrication, e.g., using three-dimensional printing and other printing techniques. Other embodiments are directed to methods of making or using such articles. For example, in some embodiments, a composite may be prepared by mixing particles (e.g., reinforcing particles) with at least a first fluid and a second fluid within a nozzle, such as a microfluidic printing nozzle, which may be used to direct the resulting product onto a substrate.

An apparatus for stretching a surface of a pair of shoes for digitally printing onto the surface by an external device, the apparatus comprising: a main plate configured to receive the pair of shoes, the main plate comprising a front end, a rear end opposite the front end, and a medial portion extending between the front and the rear ends, the medial portion being laterally offset from an outer edge of each of the front and the rear ends, a pair of curved grooves disposed at the rear end and being adapted to receive an interior of the heel of each shoe of the pair of shoes; a pair of side arms each being adapted to traverse longitudinally along an edge of the medial portion, and having a V-shaped groove; and a pair of motors each configured to independently cause a longitudinal movement of the pair of side arms.

A cutting support apparatus includes an input unit that receives shoe last data, a storage in which a shape and a type of a plurality of plate-like parts are stored, a processor that generates a cutting pattern for cutting the plurality of plate-like parts from a plate-like member having a predetermined size based on the shoe last data and the shape of the plurality of plate-like parts, and an output unit that outputs the cutting pattern. The processor divides an area of the plate-like parts to be arranged in the plate-like member into a plurality of areas in accordance with the type of the plate-like parts that form the shoe last, determines positions of the plurality of plate-like parts to be arranged in each of the areas based on an arrangement condition, and generates the cutting pattern.