A method for making a foam component is provided and includes inserting a foam material into a cavity of a mold having a top plate and a bottom plate, heating the foam material to cause the foam material to expand, and moving one of the top plate and the bottom plate relative to the other of the top plate and the bottom plate as the foam material expands and contacts the one of the top plate and the bottom plate to cause the foam material to fold over on itself within the cavity.

A molding system and a method for forming a sole structure are provided. The method includes flowing a molten polymeric material into a mold from an upstream device, receiving the molten polymeric material in a cavity of the mold, and maintaining a repeatable, uniform pressure profile as the molten polymeric material is delivered into the mold.

The present disclosure provides for making annealed additive manufacturing powder, where the powder can be used to make structures using additive manufacturing processes. The additive manufacturing powder can be annealed to improve the flowability of the powder. Once annealed, the powder can be used in the additive manufacturing process and structures can be formed by affixing the powder particles to one another (e.g., by reflowing and re-solidifying a material present in the powder particles). The annealed additive manufacturing powder can be formed in a layer-by-layer additive process to produce articles such as a component of an article of sporting equipment, apparel or footwear, including a sole structure for footwear.

A footwear injection mold includes a primary injection mold having a first coupling element of a first coupling assembly; and a secondary injection mold provides at least part of an injection chamber for molding a footwear part. The injection chamber has a proximal surface defining at least part of a distal surface of the footwear part and a second coupling element of the first coupling assembly. The first coupling assembly is configured to fix the secondary injection mold relative to the first injection mold.

A laminate of the present invention includes a first member which contains a thermoplastic polymer and through which laser light is transmitted and a second member which contains a thermoplastic polymer and absorbs laser light, wherein the first member is directly bonded to the second member, and A represented by the formula 1: A=−9×D+Wa−45 is more than zero. D represents a distance between a Hansen solubility parameter of the thermoplastic polymer of the first member and a Hansen solubility parameter of the thermoplastic polymer of the second member, and Wa represents work of adhesion calculated from each surface free energy of the first member and the second member. Such a first member and a second member are firmly bonded to each other without using a bonding sheet.

Improved soles and insoles for shoes, in particular sports shoes, are described. In an aspect, a sole for a shoe, in particular a sports shoe, with at least a first and a second surface region is provided. The first surface region comprises expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (“TPU”). The second surface region is free from expanded TPU.

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.

The present invention is a method for manufacturing inflatable bladders for use in articles of manufacture. The method includes the steps of providing a first polymer film, applying a curable release coating to the polymer film in a pattern that corresponds to the configuration of the inflatable bladder, curing the release coating to the first polymer film, providing a second polymer film with the first polymer film to form a layered element such that the release coating is disposed between the polymer films, positioning the layered element between two plies of material, applying heat and pressure to adhere the polymer films together except in the area where the release coating has been applied to form an inflatable compartment surrounded by a sealed perimeter, and removing the plies of material from the adhered first and second polymer films.

A process of adhering a foam structure to a rubber substrate is provided. The foam structure is composed of a first composition comprising a first ethylene-based polymer having a peak melting temperature T.sub.E1. A film composed of a second composition comprising a second ethylene-based polymer having a melt index≤10 g/10 min and a peak melting temperature T.sub.E2 is applied to the surface of the rubber substrate to form a rubber substrate/film configuration. A compression force is applied at a temperature T.sub.v (38° C.≤T.sub.E2<T.sub.v) to form a vulcanized rubber/film laminate. The foam structure is applied to a surface of the film of the vulcanized rubber/film laminate to form a vulcanized rubber-film laminate/foam configuration. A compression force is applied at a temperature T.sub.L, wherein T.sub.E2<T.sub.L<T.sub.E1, 15° C.≤(T.sub.E1−T.sub.L)≤40° C., and 10° C.≤(T.sub.L−T.sub.E2)≤70° C., to form a vulcanized rubber-film/foam laminate.

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).