Methods for manufacturing articles of footwear are provided. In various aspects, the methods comprise utilizing additive manufacturing methods with foam particles. In some aspects, the additive manufacturing methods comprise increasing the temperature of a plurality of foam particles with actinic radiation under conditions effective to fuse a portion of the plurality of foam particles comprising one or more thermoplastic elastomers. Increasing the temperature of the foam particles can be carried out for one or multiple iterations. The disclosed methods can be used to manufacturer articles with sub-regions that exhibit differing degrees of fusion between the foam particles, thereby resulting in sub-regions with different properties such as density, resilience, and/or flexural modulus. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

An article of footwear comprises a sole structure having a cushioning component defining an enclosed, fluid-filled chamber. The cushioning component has a top wall, a bottom wall, a medial side wall at a medial side of the article of footwear, and a lateral side wall at a lateral side of the article of footwear. The cushioning component includes a unitary outsole having a bottom portion, a medial side portion, and a lateral side portion. The bottom portion is bonded to the bottom wall, the medial side portion is bonded to the medial side wall, and the lateral side portion is bonded to the lateral side wall. A method of manufacturing includes disposing the first and second polymer sheets and the outsole in a mold assembly and thermally bonding the outsole to the second polymer sheet, and the first and second polymer sheets to one another to form a chamber.

A customizeable footbed, a self-customizing footwear having a customizable footbed, and a method for customizing a footbed to conform to contours of a foot is provided. The customizable footbed may include a plurality of packets, each packet comprising an exterior membrane defining a chamber therein, and an interior filling within the chamber. The interior filling may be selected from a group consisting of two or more components of a curable material that chemically react upon mixing of the components to irreversibly form a solid or semi-solid resin or a gel. The plurality of packets may be configured to burst upon application of a pressure such that the interior fillings of the packets flow into and mix within the intermediate space.

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes an impact-attenuation support member. The impact-attenuation support member includes a first impact-attenuation element and a second-impact-attenuation element. The first and second impact-attenuation elements include one or more portions that are interlinked and that are movable with respect to one another in at least one direction.

The invention relates to a mould (1) for manufacturing three-dimensional items, comprising a body (2); a lid (4) configured to close said body (2); and incorporated closing and opening means (5) configured to keep the body (2) and the lid (4) joined during the movement thereof. A machine (M1) for manufacturing three-dimensional items, comprising a receiving module (M2) configured to receive the mould (1); a conditioning module (M3) configured to receive the mould (1) from the receiving module (M2) and act on the incorporated closing and opening means (5) in order to separate the lid (4) from the body (2); and a handling module (M4) configured to receive the body (2) from the conditioning module (M3) and enable the placement of the components of the item to be manufactured. A method for manufacturing three-dimensional items and manufacturing plant associated with said machine (M1).

A method of manufacturing a midsole includes placing first and second preforms into a midsole recess of a mold, with first and second portions of the mold defining a first overflow chamber connected to the first recess; closing the mold by positioning the first and second portions in contact with one another; heating the mold for a predetermined period of time at a predetermined temperature such that the first and second preforms melt and bond together to form a midsole, with a portion of each of the first and second preforms flowing into the first overflow chamber to form a first overflow portion; removing the midsole from the mold; allowing the midsole to expand; and cutting away the first overflow portion.

A sole structure for an article of footwear may include a chamber for receiving a pressurized fluid, the chamber having a first chamber barrier layer and a second chamber barrier layer bonded to the first chamber barrier layer about peripheral portions of the first chamber barrier layer and the second chamber barrier layer to define an interior void between the first chamber barrier layer and the second chamber barrier layer. The sole structure may also include a tensile member bonded to, and extending between, the first chamber barrier layer and the second chamber barrier layer. The sole structure may include a bond inhibiting material located between the tensile member and the first chamber barrier layer, the tensile member and the first chamber barrier layer being unbonded in an unbonded area in which the bond inhibiting material is disposed. The chamber may include an outwardly extending bulge in the unbonded area.

A method of forming a sole structure for an article of footwear. The method includes providing a midsole element formed of a first polymeric material. The method also includes depositing an outsole material including an uncured second polymeric material upon an exterior surface of the midsole element and molding the midsole element and the outsole material to impart an outsole profile to the outsole material and curing the outsole material on the exterior surface of the midsole element.

A cushion device is provided comprising a plurality of cells arranged in an array. Each one of the plurality of cells may comprise a plurality of vertical walls interconnected to form a vertical structure. Each vertical wall of each cell may be connected to an adjacent vertical wall of an adjacent cell such that each cell is connected to a plurality of adjacent cells. Each of the plurality of vertical walls may comprise a port where the port of each vertical wall of each cell may be in fluid communication with an adjacent port of the adjacent vertical wall of the adjacent cell via a fluid aperture.

A foot alignment tool is configured for aligning a foot bearing a load. The tool extends between a handle at one end and a support lever at an opposing end and is characterized in that the support lever is configured to be received under or substantially under the medial longitudinal arch or the cuboid of the foot and configured to be rotated so as translate and/or rotate the foot from the inside of the foot to the outside of the foot or from the outside of the foot to the inside of the foot by a predetermined amount about a foot heel-toe axis wherein the support lever is configured to apply a predetermined torque.