A method of forming an electrorheological fluid structure with attached conductor and method of fabrication. A polymeric housing may have a channel defined therein. A first conductive trace may at least partially coincide with the channel. A first wire may have a first conductor surrounded by a first insulating jacket. The first conductor may be in electrical communication with the first conductive trace. A jacket bonding region of the first jacket may be welded to a housing bonding region of the housing. The jacket bonding region and the housing bonding region may be formed from a common type of polymer.

An aspect of the present invention relates to a mold insert for use in a mold for the manufacture of a cushioning element for sports apparel. Further aspects of the present invention relate to a mold using such a mold insert, a method for the manufacture of a cushioning element for sports apparel using such a mold, and a cushioning element manufactured by such a method.

A method of manufacturing a shoe structure includes: a setting step of setting an upper on a shoe last, and distributing a foam matrix material comprising a plurality of semi-foamed granules of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) along a bottom of the shoe last to position the foam matrix material between the shoe last and the upper, and a foaming step of heating the shoe last with the upper and the foam matrix material thereon by microwave, so that the semi-foamed granules are foamed to form an insole bonded to the upper, and the upper is shaped along a contour of the shoe last after cooling and removing the shoe last.

Systems and processes for thermoforming an article and for preparing an article for thermoforming are disclosed. The system for thermoforming can include one or more heating stations and a cooling station. The system for thermoforming can further include an article movement mechanism that can couple to an article and rotate the article inside a heating chamber, inside a cooling chamber, or both. The system for preparing an article for thermoforming can include a vessel that comprises a port, and a negative pressure generation system coupled to the port. The system for preparing an article for thermoforming can further include a compression material that forms an interior portion for receiving an article. The negative pressure generation system can cause the compression material to expand to allow for insertion of the article into the interior portion of the compression material.

The present invention relates to a tool, a tool system and a method for the production of particle foam parts, in particular for the manufacture of shoe soles. The shoe sole may be manufactured by welding foam particles using electromagnetic waves. The tool may comprise two mold halves forming a mold cavity corresponding to the shape of the shoe sole. The tool may be arranged between two capacitor plates. The mold cavity may be filled with the foam particles. The tool may then be closed and subjected to electromagnetic waves, in particular radio waves or microwaves, introduced into the mold cavity via the capacitor plates. The foam particles heated by the electromagnetic waves and at least partially fuse or bake together.

A sole structure for an article of footwear comprises a midsole including a polymeric bladder element enclosing a fluid-filled interior cavity, a first outsole component secured to a bottom surface and to a side surface of the polymeric bladder element, and a second outsole component. The first outsole component includes a first base, and a wall integral with the first base. The second outsole component includes a second base secured to the first base, and a wall integral with the second base and secured to the outer surface of the wall of the first outsole component. A method of manufacturing the article of footwear includes thermoforming the bladder element and the first outsole component, and securing the second outsole component to the first outsole component.

A method of making a device by a three-dimensional (3D) printing process, the method comprising a step of excluding, during the 3D printing process, the printing in one or more defined areas of one or more layers of the device in order to form at least one internal sipe in said device, the sipe being defined by two opposing surfaces that are configured to contact one another and slide against each other when said device is in a loaded condition, as viewed in a single plane cross-section; or wherein during the 3D printing process the internal sipe is formed by the exclusion of one or more print particles (3D dots) in many layers of the device, as viewed in a single plane cross-section.

A component, for example, a shoe foxing, may have one or more regions with embedded particles and one or more regions without embedded particles. The one or more regions without embedded particles may comprise one or more outer surfaces of the component. The component may be formed by heating and pressing material sections in a mold. The component may be formed by extrusion. One or more of the material sections may lack embedded particles.

Upper components for footwear include: (a) a first upper component that includes a first layer having a first material as a first filament including first plural, non-intersecting, spaced apart path segments (wherein the first filament has a width dimension of less than 3 mm wide (and in some examples, less than 2 mm wide, less than 1.5 mm wide, less than 1 mm wide, or even less than 0.75 mm wide)); and (b) a second upper component including a fabric element formed at least in part of a fusible material, wherein the fusible material of the second upper component is fused to the first material of the first upper component (e.g., in an adhesive-free manner). Additional layers of material, including additional layers including filament and/or fabric elements, e.g., of the types described above, may be included in the upper.

Foamed articles including a foamed thermoplastic elastomeric material, methods of making the foamed articles, and methods for manufacturing articles of footwear, apparel, and athletic equipment incorporating such foamed articles are provided. In one aspect, a method for making a foamed article comprises placing an article comprising a foamable material and carbon dioxide in a vessel, maintaining the vessel at a first pressure and first temperature at which the carbon dioxide is a liquid and carbon dioxide is soluble in the foamable material, optionally exposing the infused article to a second temperature and second pressure, and subjecting the article to a third pressure and third temperature at which the infused carbon dioxide phase transitions to a gas, thereby expanding the foamable material into a foamed material and forming the foamed article.