TW201808599A - Shoe upper production method - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for upper production using thermoset composite materials and thermoplastic materials for upper part production in one process. Liquid thermoset materials are applied using pouring procedure into analog mold, thermoplastic materials are digitally printed on upper surface. Said analog mold is filled with castable composition that is applied accurately by an applicator that is moved in two dimensional space by a computer controlled manipulator according to application program. The upper material is attached to thermoset composition via press with heating onto mold filled with thermoset composition. Opposite side of upper is printed with thermoplastic material. The printing process is applied with extruder moved in two dimensional space by a computer controlled manipulator according to application program. Advantages of these two printing processes applying in one production line are automatic registration between printed parts, no off line part production necessity and a lot of manual and handling procedure saving.

Description

Upper manufacturing method

A printing manufacturing method, especially a 3D printing manufacturing method applied to the footwear industry.

Most current footwear designs, and in particular athletic footwear, utilize a growing variety of material combinations to form the upper. For example, materials such as PU or TPU of various shapes and colors are adhered to the upper. Most of this program is performed manually. First, the roll material is cut into a desired shape and size by using a die, and then attached to the upper substrate through an adhesive. The adhesive can be applied to the cut material, or can be previously prepared by the raw material manufacturer. The material is sized. After attaching the web to the upper material, it is firmly bonded by hot pressing. This procedure is prone to waste of material after joining and requires intensive manpower handling and is therefore costly. And because of the manual operation, the accuracy is limited.

It is an object of the present invention to automate this process in order to overcome the deficiencies of existing procedures and to increase the productivity of printed uppers.

The object of the present invention is to solve the disadvantages of the conventional shoe upper printing process which is too complicated and cannot be fully automated, and can further improve the productivity of the process.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, the method for manufacturing the upper of the present invention mainly uses the mold making method ("the elastic prototyping 3D printing method"), the milling mold technology and other conventional mold making techniques to achieve the same final result. The shape of the upper part. Wherein, the mold can be accurately positioned with respect to the fixed mixing gun operating arm; further, the discharging system can provide a liquid thermosetting compound or a thermoplastic compound according to the material requirements of the upper printing area; Through the automatic control system, the mutual displacement and positioning between the mold and the feed gun are operated, so that the printed material can be injected into the mold at a precise position in a predetermined amount, and the position and flow rate of the printed material can be controlled at the same time.

Therefore, the printed material is filled into the cavity with an appropriate amount and uniform distribution. The mold can be preheated before the pouring procedure. When the viscosity of the desired printed material is reached, the upper material is lowered in height to the mold and pressed to press the printed material onto the upper material. To speed up the curing process, while heating the upper and the mold, the composition is cured to a final stable state while forming a strong bond therebetween.

The upper manufacturing method of the present invention can be applied to the printing of a single upper region with a single curable mixture gun, or to multiple injection guns, and each injection gun can provide a different composition or color. It can also be used to apply a castable material to a full roll upper material that has not been cut into a single upper, using a plurality of parallel racks with pre-calculated injection guns, the pre-calculated spacing compound Roll on the upper to facilitate later cutting. In this case, the robot arm may optionally be equipped with a plurality of simultaneous or secondary shotguns to accelerate the feeding process.

The preferred embodiments described below are intended to illustrate the method of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Additional materials may also be added, provided that additional materials are added that are capable of being applied in a fluid state via a feeder and that can be rapidly cured by irradiation or time-initiated chemical reaction after coating.

After the pourable mixture is poured, the thermoplastic material is printed on the upper surface opposite the castable composition. The execution of this program is controlled by the robot arm to precisely position the mold and the feed gun, and the output of the molten thermoplastic material can be precisely controlled by the extruder mounted on the robot arm, and the position and flow of the molten thermoplastic material can also be controlled.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is as follows. Referring to FIG. 1, a mold 1 is manufactured by a conventional mold making process, and one of the ones shown in FIG. The template 2 of the part is produced in the same manner as the mold 1, and is also used to inject a molten thermosetting compound into the cavity 3 so as to be adhered to the area of the upper composed of several upper members. This is because the upper material 11 has a uniform width, so the template 2 is designed to have the length of the upper and the same width as the full width of the roll.

Wherein, the template 2 can be attached to the two-dimensional mechanical arm 5 having the moving shafts 6, 7 through any abutting mechanism 4 (Fig. 2) capable of holding the template, the two-dimensional mechanical arm 5 being located relative to a PU feeding Known position of one of the nozzles 8 of the gun system 9. Wherein, the PU feed gun system 9 is a standard feeder having a heating mixing chamber, and the plurality of component materials from a trough 10 can be fully heated and mixed by the PU feed gun system 9 and then output through the nozzle 8. The pressurized injection operation is performed under appropriate flow control and operation control of the two-dimensional robot arm 5. Accordingly, the thermoset liquefaction and material can be applied to the designated location (EX: cavity 3) in the mold 1 in a controlled distribution and amount.

Next, the upper material 11 is attached to the thermosetting compound material disposed in the cavity 3; and the feeding nozzle 12 of the thermosetting material extruder 13 can print the thermoplastic material on the shoe according to the shoe design. On the face material 11.

However, in the conveyor line system, the molds 1 and the templates 2 are statically fixed to a conveyor 26, but it is worth mentioning that a shotgun 27 is mounted on the XYZ mobile system 21 (please Cooperating with FIG. 3), as the object of the present invention is intended to be automated; in addition, 6 or more molds 1 can be disposed on the conveyor 26, after all steps (step 1 to step 5) are completed. The molds 1 will be moved back to the initial position; and each step has its predetermined execution time. The maximum step time is defined by the movement time of the molds 1. Further, the templates 2 are static in each step. After the completion of each step, the conveyor 26 is moved to the next step to perform the location.

In the step of pouring the thermosetting compound in step 1, together with FIG. 2A, the injection gun 27 is controlled by an XYZ robot arm 14, and the thermosetting compound is poured into the mold 1 according to the programmed frequency of the program. Cavity 3. The mold 1 is then moved with the conveyor 26, the unit step distance being the length of the mold 1.

In step 2, the thermosetting compound is heated by a heater 15 to a suitable temperature sufficient to accelerate the curing process. If the heating time is longer than the other steps, a plurality of heaters 15 may be provided to increase the throughput. At the end of this step, the viscosity of the thermosetting compound should be suitable for attachment to the strip material 22.

In step 3, the strip of upper material 16 is pulled from a roller 17 in a manner synchronized with the conveyor 26 to pass between the molds 1 and a platen 18 placed on the conveyor 26. . Wherein, after the platen 18 is heated by electric current, it is pressed down onto the mold 1, and the strip-shaped upper material 16 is pressed onto the thermosetting compound material and the mold 1 containing the thermosetting material by using the controlled heat and pressure. This causes the thermosetting compound in a molten state to infiltrate into the fibers of the strip-shaped upper material 16, and then the curing process of the thermosetting compound is performed. When the strip upper material 16 is adhered to the thermosetting material, the pressure plate 18 is raised, and the mold 1 is moved to the next step 4 for the place. If the heating time is longer than the other steps, a plurality of the pressure plates 18 may be provided to increase the throughput.

In step 4, the thermosetting compound attached to the strip upper material 16 is heated by a heater 19, thereby completing a post-cure procedure to facilitate removal of the thermosetting compound from the cavities 3. If the heating time is longer than the other steps, a plurality of the heating stations 19 may be provided to increase the throughput. The strip of upper material 16 to which the thermoset material in the mold 1 is adhered is then moved to a thermoplastic printing station.

In the subsequent step 5, together with the thermoplastic material extruder 20 mounted on the XYZ moving system 21, as shown in FIG. 2B, the thermoplastic compound is printed on the strip according to the design of the shoe. The surface of the upper material 16. Wherein, the penetration efficiency of the thermoplastic compound to the substrate is controlled by the pressure applied to the strip upper material 16 by the feed nozzle 201 of the thermoplastic material extruder 20, the ambient temperature of the substrate, and the melting point of the thermoplastic compound itself... And other factors.

After the extrusion printing process of step 5 is completed, the mold 1 is moved to the rest station to first cool the thermoplastic printing material. And at the other end of the conveyor 26, the strip material 22 carrying the thermoplastic finished product 23 and the thermosetting finished product 24 is wound up on a roller 25 and separated from the molds 1, and the molds 1 are returned to the original position. Prepare for the next coating cycle. Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 together, the alignment between the thermosetting finished product 23 formed by the thermosetting compound and the thermoplastic finished product 24 formed by the thermoplastic compound passes through the thermoplastic 1 of the thermosetting compound relative to the output thermoplastic. The thermoplastic material extruder 20 of the compound material is precisely placed to achieve.

A‧‧‧Step 1
B‧‧‧Step 2
C‧‧‧Step 3
D‧‧‧Step 4
E‧‧‧Step 5
F‧‧‧Step 6
1‧‧‧Mold
2‧‧‧ template
3‧‧‧ cavity
4‧‧‧Resistance agency
5‧‧‧Two-dimensional robotic arm
6, 7‧‧‧ moving axis
8‧‧‧ nozzle
9‧‧‧PU feed gun system
10‧‧‧ trough
11‧‧‧Shoe material
12‧‧‧ Feeding nozzle
13‧‧‧ thermosetting material extrusion machine
14‧‧‧XYZ robotic arm
15‧‧‧heating station
16‧‧‧Striped upper material
17‧‧‧Rolling
18‧‧‧ pressure plate
19‧‧‧heating station
20‧‧‧Thermoless material extrusion machine
201‧‧‧ Feeding nozzle
21‧‧‧XYZ mobile system
22‧‧‧ strip material
23‧‧‧Finished products
24‧‧‧Hot-solid finished products
25‧‧‧roller
26‧‧‧Conveyor
27‧‧‧Injection gun

Figure 1 is a view of a mold cavity placed on a transport plate. 2A is a schematic view of pouring a thermosetting compound into a cavity of a mold. Figure 2B is a schematic illustration of the printing of a thermoplastic composite material on an upper. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for manufacturing an upper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a top plan view of a process for manufacturing an upper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (8)

A method for manufacturing an upper comprising: Step 1: pouring a molten thermosetting compound into a cavity of a template; Step 2: heating the thermosetting compound to a cured state; Step 3: combining the thermosetting compound in a strip shape Step 4: heating the thermosetting compound, thereby forming the thermosetting compound into a thermosetting product and fixing it on the strip upper material; Step 5: forming a thermoplastic compound by using a thermoplastic material A thermoplastic finished product is printed on the strip of upper material; Step 6: Retracting the strip of upper material. The method of manufacturing the upper according to claim 1, wherein the thermosetting compound is applied to the strip upper material after being applied by a type of filling. The upper manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the thermosetting finished product and the thermoplastic Eslite are printed on opposite sides of the strip upper material. The method of manufacturing the upper according to claim 1, wherein the alignment between the thermosetting product and the thermoplastic product is performed by using the mold of the thermosetting compound relative to the thermoplastic material extrusion machine of the thermoplastic compound. Set to achieve. The upper manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mold comprises a plurality of types of cavities for pouring the thermosetting material, and the plurality of feeding guns are simultaneously operated to pour the thermosetting material during pouring. The feed guns have the same shape but are spaced apart from each other, so the dosing time can be reduced depending on the number of simultaneously used feed guns. The upper manufacturing method of claim 5, wherein the feeding gun is moved by an X-Y-Z robot while the mold is stationary during the feeding. The upper manufacturing method according to claim 5, wherein each of the feeding guns is for applying a composition having a different color or characteristic. The method of manufacturing the upper according to claim 5, wherein the thermosetting compound to be poured is any compound which is injectable in a fluid state and which can be cured by heating or special energy radiation or time after injection.