A method of customizing the sole structure of an article of footwear includes providing a sole structure with a sole component having an inner surface and an opposite-facing outer surface. The sole component includes a plurality of inner recesses extending from the inner surface and a plurality of outer recesses extending from the outer surface, the plurality of inner recesses include a blind-hole inner recess, the plurality of outer recesses include a blind-hole outer recess, and the blind-hole inner recess is generally aligned with the blind hole outer recess along a vertical direction. The method further includes adjusting the flexibility of the sole component by selectively cutting or removing material from one or both of the blind-hole inner recess and the blind-hole outer recess.

In methods and apparatuses for producing auxetic foam from conventional foam, conventional foam is compressed into a mold before thermal, chemical or thermo-chemical treatment processes are performed. A segmented mold is accommodated in a compressing apparatus. After compressing the foam between the mold segments, the mold is fastened shut and removed from the compressing apparatus. The forces applied to any given volume of foam and the amounts by which the foam is compressed while being processed are controlled to impart desired mechanical properties to the produced foam. Poisson's ratio and density of discrete portions of finished foam shapes are reliably predicted and controlled to achieve uniform and non-uniform mechanical properties within a single continuous quantity of foam.

Multi-body interpenetrating lattices comprise two or more lattices that interlace or interpenetrate through the same volume without any direct physical connection to each other, wherein energy transfer is controlled by surface interactions. As a result, multifunctional or composite-like responses can be achieved by additive manufacturing of the interpenetrating lattices, even with only a single print material, with programmable interface-dominated properties. As a result, the interpenetrating lattices can have unique mechanical properties, including improved toughness, multi-stable/negative stiffness, and electromechanical coupling.

A deformable auxetic structure for absorbing energy of an impact that comprises a plurality of interconnected adjoining tridimensional auxetic cells where each tridimensional auxetic cell comprises at least one surface element and a plurality of legs extending from the surface, the plurality of legs and the surface element being configured such that the sectional cut of the structure in at least two planes perpendicular to the surface element follows an auxetic pattern.

A material that includes at least one layer made of an auxetic structure and articles of footwear having soles comprising the materials. When the material is under tension, it expands in both the direction under tension and in the direction orthogonal to the direction under tension. The articles of footwear have soles that have at least one layer made of a material that has a pattern of apertures to provide the auxetic structure. The apertures are surrounded by sole portions that can rotate or pivot to change the size of the apertures. An outer covering can be mated with an outsole structure formed by the auxetic structure. The outer covering includes features that mate with the apertures in the outsole structure. The outer covering is elastic and can stretch to accommodate expansion of the auxetic structure.

An article of footwear has an upper and a sole structure. The upper includes a base layer and one or more tensile strands. The sole structure includes an auxetic element operable to expand in two orthogonal horizontal directions in response to a tension applied in one of the directions. Each tensile strand has at least one end secured in fixed position relative to a peripheral region of the sole structure.

The present invention includes scalable and cost-effective auxetic foam sensors (AFS) created through conformably coating a thin conductive nanomaterial-sensing layer on a porous substrate having a negative Poisson's ratio. In general, the auxetic foam sensors possess multimodal sensing capability, such as large deformation sensing, small pressure sensing, shear/torsion sensing and vibration sensing and excellent robustness in humidity environment.

Described herein is a process for preparing a foam (FA) with a Poisson's ratio in the range of from 0.5 to 0.3, the method including the steps of providing a foam (F1) with a flow resistance in the range of from 3000 to 8000 Pas/m, determined according to DIN EN 29053, and subjecting the foam (F1) to thermoforming including triaxial compression, wherein the foam (F1) is not reticulated prior to step (ii). Also described herein is the foam obtained or obtainable according to the process and the use of the foam as, for example, an energy absorbing device, preferably in protective gear, furniture, cushions, in cleaning devices with improved rinse-out behavior, in shoe soles, or as sealing, insulating or anchorage providing material for example used in earphones, ear plugs or dowels, or as acoustic material.

A sole structure includes a sole component, which has an inner surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface. The sole component has a length and a thickness. The sole component includes a sole material, and the sole material has a density. At least one of the thickness or the density varies along the length of the sole component. The sole component defines a plurality of holes extending from at least one of the inner surface and the outer surface and arranged to form an auxetic structure. The auxetic structure is configured such that, when the sole component is tensioned in a first direction, the sole component expands in both the first direction and in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A property of the auxetic structure varies as a function of the density or the thickness of the sole component.

A method of customizing the sole structure of an article of footwear includes providing a sole structure with a sole component having an inner surface and an opposite-facing outer surface. The sole component includes a plurality of inner recesses extending from the inner surface and a plurality of outer recesses extending from the outer surface, the plurality of inner recesses include a blind-hole inner recess, the plurality of outer recesses include a blind-hole outer recess, and the blind-hole inner recess is generally aligned with the blind hole outer recess along a vertical direction. The method further includes adjusting the flexibility of the sole component by selectively cutting or removing material from one or both of the blind-hole inner recess and the blind-hole outer recess.