Systems and methods of manufacturing a shoe outsole are provided wherein at least a portion of the resulting shoe outsole includes embedded particles. An example method includes applying adhesive to at least one region of the shoe outsole, depositing selected particles onto the adhesive to provide the shoe outsole with a first coat of particles, and at least partially curing the adhesive. The method continues by applying additional adhesive over the first coat of particles, depositing additional particles onto the adhesive to provide the shoe outsole with a second coat of particles, and at least partially curing the subsequent application of adhesive.

The manufacturing of footwear includes the joining of components. The joining may be accomplished with adhesive. The adhesive, such as a polyurethane, is applied as a single-sided adhesive to a footwear component. The application of the adhesive can contaminate the system that is applying the adhesive with intentional over spray of the footwear component. The over spray ensures adequate coverage of the footwear component to allow a sufficient bond. A masking platform of the system masks portions of the system to limit the contamination caused by the over spray. Additionally, material brushes and scrapers may engage with components of the system to remove or limit adhesive contamination on those components. A vision system maps a surface of the footwear component to ensure the adhesive is applied for the specific article.

Systems apply a material (e.g., adhesive) to an article (e.g., a component in an article of footwear) with a multiple-nozzle tool. A first nozzle of the multiple-nozzle tool is effective to provide an edge application of the material that is consistent in application of the material. A second nozzle of the multiple-nozzle tool is effective to provide a greater material coverage application than the first nozzle. The second nozzle may be implemented to apply the material at an interior area from the edge at which the first nozzle applies the material, in an exemplary aspect.

A self-cleaning ring conveyor includes a first roller having a first rotational axis and a second roller having a second rotational axis that is parallel with the first rotational axis. The conveyor also includes a first ring extending around a combination of the first roller and the second roller and a second ring extending around the combination of the first roller and the second roller. The first ring and the second ring are parallel to each other. The conveyor also includes a first scraper having a first scraping slot and a second scraping slot. The first ring extends through the first scraping slot and the second ring extends through the second scraping slot.

The manufacturing of articles relies on the bonding of two or more components to form some forms of the articles, such as a shoe sole bonded with a shoe upper. The bonding may be achieved with an adhesive particulate that is applied to a surface of a substrate. The adhesive particulate is selectively fused to the substrate with a controlled energy source, such as a laser. The selective application of laser energy allows for specific geometric structures of adhesive particulate to be formed on the substrate. The substrate having the fused adhesive particulate is mated with another component allowing the fused adhesive particulate to bond the first substrate and the second component.

This document relates to adhesive application devices and methods for applying an adhesive on a shoe during manufacturing.

A processing method using depth detection includes: an image capturing step implemented by using a camera device to capture a depth image of a device under test (DUT) and a surrounding environment around the DUT, and then using a signal processing module to carry out a modifying process so as to transform the depth image into a three-dimensional (3D) image corresponding in shape to the DUT; a planning step implemented by using the signal processing module to define spraying spots on the 3D image and to calculate normal vectors of the 3D image respectively corresponding in position to the spraying spots; and a spraying step implemented by using a spraying device to sequentially spray portions of the DUT respectively corresponding in position to the spraying spots, in which a spraying direction of the spraying device is substantially parallel to the normal vector of the corresponding spraying spot.

A conveying device includes a conveyor and a carrying member. The conveyor is movable along a transporting path that sequentially defines an upstream segment and a downstream segment, and an outer surface of the conveyor includes a detecting region. The carrying member is mounted on the outer surface of the conveyor. A height of the carrying member with respect to the outer surface is larger than or equal to 3 mm.

A machine (10) for applying glue onto a sole of footwear comprises a support (17) for a sole and a glue dispensing device (14) and a movement system (13) for moving the device (14) relative to the support (17) under the control of a control system (15) so as to follow, with the device (14), gluing paths along a sole placed on the support (17). The glue dispensing device (14) comprises a radial brush (30) which is motorized to rotate about its central axis (31) and is designed to pass lightly with its radial periphery along a sole to be glued placed on the support (17), and a dispensing unit (33) designed to dispense glue on the periphery of the radial brush (30). Advantageously, the brush (30) is kept with its axis substantially parallel tangentially to the edge of the sole during operation of the machine for gluing the edge of the sole.

A conveying device includes a conveyor and a carrying member. The conveyor is movable along a transporting path that sequentially defines an upstream segment and a downstream segment, and an outer surface of the conveyor includes a detecting region. The carrying member is mounted on the outer surface of the conveyor. A height of the carrying member with respect to the outer surface is larger than or equal to 3 mm.