Shoe fabrication

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing system (1) for fabricating an article of apparel (2), preferably a shoe (21). The manufacturing system (1) comprises a support structure (3) configured to receive at least a first component (22) of the article of apparel (2), a printing device (4) and a handling device (5) configured to move the support structure (3) and / or the printing device (4) along a predefined movement path (11), wherein the printing device (4) is configured to apply a print (23) at least partially on the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2). The present disclosure further relates to a method for fabricating an article of apparel and an article of apparel.

Description

[0001] Shoe fabrication

[0002] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing system and method for fabricating an article of apparel, preferably a shoe according to the preamble of patent claims. The present disclosure further relates to an article of apparel, preferably a shoe fabricated according to the patent claims.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0005] Inkjet printers to print on substantially plane surfaces of objects are known. They usually comprise a suction element to keep the object to be printed on in place, and have a universal multi-pass printing scheme of a printing head iterating over rows and columns of the plane of the printer surface on which the object is placed. A disadvantage of such printers is that usually only essentially planar objects can be printed on. Furthermore, an object to be printed needs to be manually turned if two opposing sides of the object should be printed on. Another disadvantage of these inkjet printers is the required time to apply a print.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0007] It is the general object of the present disclosure to advance the state of the art in the field of textile technology and preferably to overcome the disadvantages discussed above fully or partly. It is further the object of the disclosure to provide a manufacturing system and method for fabricating an article of apparel, preferably a shoe as well as the article of apparel, preferably the shoe fabricated according to the method.

[0008] The general object is achieved by the subject-matter of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments follow from the dependent claims and the overall disclosure.

[0009] The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing system for fabricating an article of apparel, preferably a shoe. The manufacturing system comprises a support structure configured to receive at least a first component of the article of apparel. In the context of the present disclosure, the support structure is to be understood as a typically three dimensional carrier structure. The support structure may have a free-form which either follows the shape of the first component of the article of apparel or define the shape of the first component of the article of apparel. The support structure can e.g. be in form of a shoe last. In the context of the present disclosure, the article of apparel is to be understood to be any article able to be worn or carried by a human. In particular, this includes e.g. shoes, shirts, caps, shorts, socks, gloves, belts, sweatbands, and bags, but also balls, skipping ropes, and water bottles. In the context of the present disclosure the article of apparel can be a shoe. The first component of the article of apparel may be the upper of the shoe or the combination of the upper and the sole of the shoe or also the entire shoe.

[0010] The manufacturing system further comprises a printing device and a handling device. The printing device may comprise at least one multi-drop inkjet printing head, comprising multiple printing nozzles. The multiple printing nozzles can each be configured to eject at least one ink-droplet onto the first component of the article of apparel and the multiple printing nozzles are preferably arranged in a line. The multiple printing nozzles can be arranged either all on one common line or alternatively be clustered around the line, e.g. being arranged laterally adjacent to a common imaginary line, preferably in an alternating manner. This has the advantage of applying the ink-droplets in parallel and thus to be able to print the print in one go and therefore in a small amount of time. The multiple printing nozzles can be arranged in two parallel lines. This has the advantage of being able to arrange more printing nozzles on the same layout and therefore to be able to achieve a higher resolution and / or a stronger intensity.

[0011] The handling device is configured to move the support structure and / or the printing device, along a predefined movement path. The handling device may comprise a robot, comprising a multi-axis arm. The multi-axis arm can be configured to receive the support structure. This has the advantage that with only one handling device a number of different support structures can be coupled which leads to a great flexibility of the manufacturing system. The multi-axis arm may comprise a gripper, preferably in the form of two clamping jaws, which is gripper is configured to encompass a holding element of the support structure. The preferably holding element can be in form of a slot nut. This has the advantage of immediate pick up and hand over of support structures and thus applying a print on a large amount of first components of the article of apparel in little amount of time.

[0012] The support structure may be of a 3D form substantially filling a hollow part of the first component of the article of apparel, in particular following the shape of the first component of the article of apparel to be received. In case that the support structure is a last, a sole may e.g. be magnetically attached to the last, which sole may be part of the first component or attached to the first component of the article of apparel. The last may comprise fixedly present magnets, and the sole may comprise removable, in particular pluggable magnets. Alternatively or in addition, the sole may be attached to the last by mechanical fixation means. These can e.g. be in form of pins which are attached to the last and with which the sole can be temporarily attached to the last in a removable manner.

[0013] The printing device is configured to apply a print at least partially on the first component of the article of apparel. This has the advantage that a predefined movement path may be predefined in a way to optimize the time required to apply the print on the first component of the article of apparel. The predefined movement path is preferably designed, such that the print can be applied in one go. In case that several colors and / or layers are to be printed, each color and / or layer is preferably printed in one go. In addition, the predefined movement path may be chosen such that the printing device can apply a plurality of prints on different sides of the first component of the article of apparel. The handling device is preferably configured to move the support structure relative to the printing device and the printing device is stationary. This has the advantage that the support structure which usually has less mass compared to the printing device is moved, which allows for better physical alignment and therefore a higher accuracy of the print due to a lower moment of inertia.

[0014] The predefined movement path typically depends on a size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel. This has the advantage that the predefined movement path may be defined such as to minimize distortions of the applied print. In addition, the manufacturing system requires less space. The predefined movement path is typically defined as an ordered list of distinct successive location states of physical location and orientation of movable parts of components of the manufacturing system. In particular, each moveable part can be in a location state defined by a certain coordinate and rotation angle(s) with respect to a common reference coordinate and common reference angle(s).

[0015] The handling device may be configured to successively move the support structure and / or the printing device along a plurality of predefined movement paths for each of a plurality of respective prints applied to the first component of the article of apparel. The predefined movement path can consist of the predefined movement path of the support structure. The predefined movement path may comprise a plurality of predefined movement subpaths of the support structure with respect to the printing device, for instance for a plurality prints to be applied. The manufacturing system, in particular a controller of the manufacturing system, may be configured to define at least part of the predefined movement path as successive location states of the support structure such that in each location state, a step of applying the print is applied.

[0016] The printing device may comprise at least two multi-drop inkjet printing heads, whereby each of the at least two printing heads is a multi-drop printing head configured to eject a plurality of ink-droplets onto the first component of the article of apparel. This has the advantage that at least two different colors can be applied simultaneously. The ink-droplet may be a color out of: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, White. The color may be matt or shiny. The ink-droplet may also be a base ink-droplet or a finishing resp. a lacquering resp. a varnish ink-droplet. Alternatively, the ink-droplet may be any printable fluid with a viscosity suitable to be printed with an ink-jet printing device, such as a fluid comprising antibacterial components or other beneficial characteristics. The ink-droplet may also be of a viscosity and applied in a manner such as to form a thick texture on the article of apparel. The manufacturing system can comprise a plurality of multi-drop inkjet printing heads which are arranged adjacent to each other. This has the advantage that a plurality of articles of apparel can be fabricated in parallel.

[0017] The at least one multi-drop inkjet printing head can be configured to adjust ink ejection pressure to adjust the size of disposed ink-droplets depending on the physical distance between the multi-drop inkjet printing head and the first component of the article of apparel. This has the advantage that the ink-droplet size is adjustable, in particular that ink-droplets can be magnified for longer physical distances compared to ink-droplets for shorter physical distances. In particular, the physical distance is the average physical distance between the multi-drop inkjet printing head and the first component of the article of apparel at the locations) the print is applied. The physical distance between the multi-drop inkjet printing head and the first component of the article of apparel may be up to 30 mm.

[0018] The manufacturing system may further comprise a controller communicatively connected to the printing device and to the handling device. The controller may be configured to generate a distorted image based on a transformation of data indicative of a 2D-form, and control the printing device to apply the distorted image as the print. This has the advantage of allowing the application of a 2D-form on a first component of the article of apparel as a print. Additionally or alternatively, the controller may be configured to generate the predefined movement path based on the data indicative of a 2D-form and control the handling device to move the support structure and / or the printing device along the predefined movement path. This has the advantage that the print of the 2D-form can be applied in a way optimized for required passes, thus the number of times the movement has to go back and forth. Combining the generation of a distorted image and the generation of the predefined movement path has the advantage that the application of the distorted image by the printing device and the predefined movement path can be interdependent^ chosen such that the print can be applied as fast and accurate as possible.

[0019] The controller can generate the length of the part of the predefined movement path passing along the printing device based on the data indicative of a 2D-form. The controller may comprise one or more systems on a chip (SoC), central processing units (CPUs), and / or other more specific processing units such as graphical processing units (GPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs) or other application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or reprogrammable processing units such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The controller can be a distributed controller, i.e. subunits of the controller are arranged in separate housings or casings, each subunit comprising e.g. a communication interface. In particular, the controller may comprise at least one printing controller subunit, a handling controller subunit, and a central controller subunit, each controller subunit arranged in a separate housing and each comprising a communication interface. Alternatively, the central controller subunit may be in a same housing as the printing controller subunit or the handling controller subunit. Good results can be achieved, when the central controller subunit is communicatively connected to the at least one printing controller subunit and the handling controller subunit. In particular, the central controller subunit is configured to communicate with the at least one printing controller subunit and the handling controller subunit via their respective communication interface. Preferably, the communication interface is a wired or wireless communication interface, more preferably a short-range wireless communication interface. Each multi-drop inkjet printing head of a printing device may comprise a respective printing controller subunit. The printing controller subunit can control the printing device to apply the distorted image as the print based on receiving a signal from the central controller subunit to do so.

[0020] The handling controller subunit may control the handling device to move the support structure and / or the printing device along the predefined movement path based on receiving a signal from the central controller subunit to do so. The controller can control each of the multiple printing nozzles of the at least one multidrop inkjet printing head, independently from the remaining multiple printing nozzles. This has the advantage, that a variable drop pattern may be applied, in particular by turning on and turning off each specific printing nozzles. This has the further advantage that the ink ejection pressure and thus the ink-droplet size ejected by each printing nozzle may be adjusted depending on the physical distance between each printing nozzle and the first component of the article of apparel. The controller may control the frequency of ejection of ink-droplets, controls the speed of moving along the predefined movement path and / or controls more printing nozzles to be off, for instance one out of two rows of nozzles. This has the advantage that a comparably lighter coloring can be achieved with more printing nozzles turned off, and / or lower frequency and higher speed.

[0021] Generating the distorted image is typically further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel. This has the advantage that the print may be scaled to the size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel. Alternatively or additionally, generating the predefined movement path is further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel. This has the advantage that the print may be scaled to the size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel. The data indicative of a size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel can comprise an apparel size and / or apparel type, in particular a shoe size and / or a shoe type. The controller may further comprise a memory configured to store the data indicative of a 2D-form to be printed and / or data indicative of the size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel.

[0022] The manufacturing system may further comprise a heating device configured to heat up and / or a plasma device configured to electrostatically charge the outer surface of the first component of the article of apparel, preferably before applying the print. This has the advantage of improved print quality and print speed. The manufacturing system can further comprise a fixation device, preferably a UV emitter, configured to dry, harden and / or fixate the print on the first component of the article of apparel, preferably after all prints are applied. This has the advantage of improved speed of printing. Alternatively or additionally, each multidrop inkjet printing head comprises an intermediate fixation device, preferably a UV emitter, configured to dry, harden and / or fixate the print on the first component of the article of apparel, preferably after the respective print(s) of the respective multi-drop inkjet printing head. This has the advantage that several colors or inkdroplet types can be applied after each other in as little time as possible.

[0023] The handling device is further typically configured to pick up the support structure at a provision station and / or hand over the support structure at a delivery station. The manufacturing system may further comprise an application station which comprises an extrusion nozzle, wherein the extrusion nozzle is configured to apply the first component of the first component of the article of apparel to the support structure, which first component of the article of apparel comprises a layer formed by filament. This has the advantage that the first component of the article of apparel can be produced in addition to being printed. The extrusion nozzle may comprise an outlet orifice and a plurality of air outlet openings arranged around the outlet orifice for applying a molten polymer composition in form of a helical filament to the support structure and thereby forming the layer of the first component.

[0024] Alternatively or in addition, the manufacturing system can comprise a second handling device configured to move the support structure relative to the application station along a second predefined movement path. In particular, the second handling device may be interconnected to the support structure in order to move the support structure along the second predefined movement path. The controller may be communicatively connected to the second handling device and configured to control the second handling device to move the support structure relative to the application station along the second predefined movement path.

[0025] The second handling device can be configured to move the support structure to the application station. The second handling device is further configured to move the support structure to the heating device and / or the plasma device. The second handling device is further configured to optionally move the support structure from the application station to the provision station, for making the support structure accessible to the handling device. The handling device may be configured to move the support structure relative to the application station along a second predefined movement path. Good results can be achieved when the handling device is configured to move the support structure to the application station. The handling device is further configured to move the support structure to the heating device and / or the plasma device. The handling device is further configured to optionally move the support structure from the application station to the provision station, for making the support structure accessible to the handling device.

[0026] The manufacturing system can be in form of one assembly cell or two interconnected assembly cells. The manufacturing system is preferably a self-contained assembly cell whereby the printing device and a handling device are arranged in a stationary arrangement with respect to each other, preferably on a common base floor. The common base floor typically forms the foundation of the assembly cell. The assembly cell can optionally comprise walls and optionally a roofing for safety and protection reasons. A self-contained assembly cell has the advantage of easily physically moving the manufacturing system as a whole. A self-contained assembly cell with walls and optionally a roof allows the installation of the assembly cell outside of traditional manufacturing settings, for example close to customers, e.g. on a fair or even in a store.

[0027] A second aspect of the disclosure relates to a method for fabricating an article of apparel, preferably a shoe, by a manufacturing system according to any of the preceding claims, comprising at least a support structure, a printing device and a handling device The method comprises arranging a first component of the article of apparel on the support structure. The method further comprises moving, by the handling device of the manufacturing system, the support structure with the thereon arranged first component of the article of apparel and / or the printing device along a predefined movement path. The method further comprises applying, by the printing device, a print at least partially on the first component of the article of apparel. The embodiments of the first aspect of the disclosure and its advantages are also applicable to this second aspect of the disclosure.

[0028] The manufacturing system may further comprises a controller and the method further comprises generating, by the controller, a distorted image, based on a transformation of the data indicative of a 2D-form, and controlling the printing device to apply the distorted image as the print. Alternatively or additionally, the method further comprises generating, by the controller, the predefined movement path based on the data indicative of a 2D-form and controlling the handling device to move the support structure and / or the printing device along the predefined movement path. This has the advantage that the application of the distorted im- age by the printing device and the predefined movement path can be interde- pendently chosen such that the print can be applied as fast as possible. Generating the distorted image may further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel and / or generating the predefined movement path is further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel. The data indicative of a size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel typically comprises shoe size and / or shoe type.

[0029] The data indicative of a 2D-form is a plane image, which expands in 2 dimensions and the data indicative of the size and shape of the first component of the article of apparel is a 3D representation of the first component of the article of apparel. In the embodiment, generating the distorted image comprises simulating a vector-graphical projection of the plane image to the surface of the 3D representation of the first component of the article of apparel onto the surface of the 3D representation of the article of apparel, thereby creating a projected form. Furthermore, generating the distorted image further comprises generating the distorted image using the projected form. This has the advantage that the projected form which is further used to generate the distorted image can be a transformation out of the data indicative of a 2D-form which has as little as possible distortions. In the scope of this disclosure, simulating something also comprises calculating something. Vector-graphical projection is also known as 3D projection mapping, 3D surface mapping or object projection. Simulating the vector-graphical projection can comprise image processing such as grading, wrapping and / or stitching. The projected form may be in vector file format. Generating the distorted image can include generating a perpendicular back-projection of the projected form onto a back-plane expanding in 2 dimensions to the surface of the 3D representation of the first component of the article of apparel, thereby creating the distorted image. This has the advantage of generating a distorted image which is easily interpretable by a printing device. Furthermore, generating the predefined movement path includes generating the predefined movement path as a straight line in space, such that a normal vector of the surface of the first component which is foreseen to be printed is essentially parallel with respect to the line of flight of the ejected ink-droplet(s). This has the advantage of simple generation of the predefined movement path with minimal distortions of the print on the first component of the article of apparel and fast application of the print. Generating the predefined movement path may comprise optimizing the predefined movement path such that the distance and / or rotation angle(s) between the multi-drop inkjet printing head and the outer surface of the first component which is foreseen to be printed are substantially constant. This has the advantage that the projected form can be applied by the printing head with as little distortions as possible.

[0030] Controlling the handling device to move the support structure and / or the printing device along the predefined movement path and / or controlling the printing device to apply the distorted image as the print may comprise using a curvature of the first component of the article of apparel along the predefined movement path resp. predefined movement subpath. This may be done by controlling the frequency of ejection of ink-droplets, controlling the speed of moving along the predefined movement path and / or controlling more printing nozzles to be on or off, for instance one out of two rows of nozzles. In particular, controlling the handling device to move the support structure along the predefined movement path and / or controlling the printing device to apply the distorted image as the print may comprise increasing the frequency of ejection, lowering the speed of moving and / or the more nozzles turned on for a convex outer surface of the first component compared to a straight outer surface of the first component. The opposite, thus lowering the frequency of ejection, increasing the speed of moving and / or the more nozzles turned off may hold for a concave outer surface and controlling the handling device to move the support structure, compared to a straight outer surface of the first component. Lowering the frequency of ejection, increasing the speed of moving and / or the more nozzles turned off may hold for a convex outer surface and controlling the handling device to move the printing device along the predefined movement path, compared to a straight outer surface of the first component. This has the advantage of achieving a more even ink distribution, e.g. color distribution, on the outer surface of the first component.

[0031] The method may further comprise performing, by the controller, a simulation check of moving the support structure and the printing device along the predefined movement path relative to each other based on a digital twin of the physical arrangement of the manufacturing system and a 3D representation of the article of apparel. Preferably, the controller performs the simulation check before controlling the handling device and the printing device. The simulation check can comprise checking for physical collisions of the manufacturing system and the 3D representation of the article of apparel. The simulation check may further comprise checking for correct overlap of colors ejected from different multi-drop inkjet printing heads on the article. This may also include capturing an image of a previously printed first component of an article of apparel and overlapping the image with the 3D representation of the article of apparel including the projected form, for instance with an appropriate augmented reality tool.

[0032] A third aspect of the disclosure relates to an article of apparel, preferably a shoe fabricated by the method according to the second aspect.

[0033] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the disclosure. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments, and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operation of the concepts disclosed.

[0034] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] The herein described disclosure will be more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which should not be considered limiting to the disclosure described in the appended claims. The drawings are showing:-

[0036] Fig. 1 a perspective view on a manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0037] Fig. 2 a perspective view on a manufacturing system according to the embodiment of the disclosure with disassembled walls; Fig. 3 a perspective view on an application station, handling device and provision station according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0038] Fig. 4 a frontal view on an arrangement of three multi-drop inkjet printing heads of the printing device according to an embodiment of the disclo- sure;

[0039] Fig. 5 a lateral view on a multi-drop inkjet printing head of a printing device according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0040] Fig. 6 a lateral view on a head of an application station according to an embodiment of the disclosure; Fig. 7 a block diagram of a subset of a manufacturing system comprising a controller and the controller’s communicative connections according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0041] Fig. 8 a schematic view of generating a distorted image based on a transformation of data indicative of a 2D-form according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0042] Fig. 9a a schematic view of the movement along a predefined movement path of the support structure relative to the printing device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; Fig. 9b a schematic view of the movement along a predefined movement path of the support structure relative to the printing device according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

[0043] DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0044] Reference will now be made in detail to certain embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all features are shown. Indeed, embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Whenever possible, like reference numbers will be used to refer to like components or parts.

[0045] Figures 1 and 2 show a perspective view on a manufacturing system 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The shown manufacturing system 1 is in form of an assembly cell. The manufacturing system 1 is a self-contained assembly cell whereby the printing device 4 and the handling device 5 are arranged in a stationary arrangement with respect to each other, in the shown variation on a common base floor. The common base floor forms the foundation of the assembly cell. The shown assembly cell comprises walls and optionally a roofing for safety and protection reasons.

[0046] Figure 3 shows a perspective view on an application station 102, handling device 5 and provision station 100 of the manufacturing system 1 according to the same embodiment of the disclosure. The manufacturing system 1 is an arrangement of components, attached to a common base floor, wherein some components have movable parts. The manufacturing system 1 is self-contained cell with common base floor and walls. The manufacturing system 1 comprises an application station 102, a handling device 5, a printing device 4, as well as a provision station 100 and a delivery station 101. In addition, the manufacturing system 1 comprises a plasma device 8 and a fixation device 9.

[0047] The handling device 5 comprising a robot 51 in turn comprising a multi-axis arm is interconnected with and configured to move a support structure 3 along a predefined movement path 11 comprising a plurality of predefined movement subpaths passing several components of the manufacturing system 1 . The multi-axis arm 52, comprises a gripper 53, preferably in the form of two clamping jaws, which is configured to encompass a holding element 31 of the support structure 3, preferably in form of a slot nut 32. The handling device 5 is configured to pick up the support structure 3 at the provision station, to move the support structure 3 relative to the application station 102, such that the application station 102 the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2 is applied to the support structure 3 (See description to Figure 6). In particular, the support structure 3 already has a shoe sole attached thereto before being picked up and the first component 22 is the upper of the shoe.

[0048] The handling device 5 is further configured to move the support structure 3 having now arranged thereon the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2 to the plasma device 8 configured to electrostatically charge the outer surface 24 of the first component 22 of the article of apparel, before applying the print 23. The handling device 5 is further configured to move the support structure 3 along the predefined movement path 11 resp. predefined movement subpaths adjacent to three multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 of the printing device 4, which are configured to apply a print 23 on the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2 (See description to Figure 4). In particular, the printing device 4 is stationary. The handling device 5 is further configured to move the support structure 3 to a fixation device 9, a UV emitter, configured to fixate the print 23 on the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2, after all prints 23 have been applied. The handling device 5 is further configured to hand over the support structure 3 at a delivery station 101 .

[0049] Figure 4 shows a frontal view on an arrangement of three multi-drop inkjet printing heads 41 of the printing device 4 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Figure 5 shows a lateral view on a multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 of a printing device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Each multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 comprises multiple printing nozzles 42, 42 which are each configured to eject at least one ink-droplet onto the first component 22 of the article of apparel and the multiple printing nozzles 42, 42’ are arranged in a line. Each multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 comprises an intermediate fixation device 91 , in particular a UV emitter, configured to fixate the print 23 on the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2, after the print(s) 23 of the respective multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 is / are applied.

[0050] The first multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 along the predefined movement path applies base and a color onto the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2. The second multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 along the predefined movement path applies further colors onto the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2. The third multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 along the predefined movement path applies black and varnish onto the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2.

[0051] Figure 6 shows a lateral view on a head of an application station according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The application station 102 comprises an extrusion nozzle 103. The extrusion nozzle 103 is configured to apply the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2 to the support structure 3, which first component 22 of the article of apparel 2 comprises a layer 25 formed by filament. The extrusion nozzle 103 comprises an outlet orifice 104 and a plurality of air outlet openings 105 arranged around the outlet orifice 104 for applying a molten polymer composition in form of a helical filament 26 to the support structure 3 and thereby forming the layer 25 of the first component 22.

[0052] Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a subset of a manufacturing system 1 comprising a controller 6 and the controller’s communicative connections according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The controller 6 is communicatively connected to the printing device 4 and to the handling device 5. The controller 6 is configured to generate a distorted image 63 based on a transformation of data indicative of a 2D-form, and control the printing device to apply the distorted image as the print 23. Additionally, the controller is configured to generate the predefined movement path 11 based on the data indicative of a 2D-form and control the handling device 5 to move the support structure 3 and / or the printing device 4 along the predefined movement path 11 .

[0053] Figure 8 shows a schematic view of generating a distorted image 63 based on a transformation of data indicative of a 2D-form according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Specifically, generating the distorted image 63 comprises two steps. In the first step, a plane image 61 , which expands in 2 dimensions is converted into a projected form 64 of the plane image 61 by vector-graphical simulation. In particular, the controller simulates a vector-graphical projection of the plane image 61 a surface of a 3D representation of the article of apparel 62. In particular, the plane image 61 is simulated to be laid onto the surface of the 3D representation of the article of apparel 62, which is a curved surface in 3D space. Doing this is bound to lead to distortions in the plane image 61 as such, such that in order to minimize or adequately distribute the distortions, simulating the vector-graphical projection comprises the image processing steps of grading, wrapping and / or stitching. As a result of the vector-graphical projection, the projected form 64 emerges as a 2D surface curved in 3D space.

[0054] In the second step, the projected form 64 is back-projected to 2D space, in particular onto a back-plane expanding in 2 dimensions. In particular, the controller generates the distorted image 63 by generating a perpendicular back-projection of the projected form 64 back into 2 dimensional space, such that it is easy to control the printing device to apply the distorted image 63 as the print in a subsequent step. In other words, the back-projection is a projection in the sense of, in a Cartesian coordinate system comprising axes x, y and z, the controller neglects the z component such as to achieve an image spanning in 2D space spanned by axes x and y. After having generated the distorted image 63, the controller 6 controls the printing device 4 to apply the distorted image 63 as the print 23.

[0055] Figures 9a and 9b show a schematic view of the movement along a predefined movement path 11’ of the support structure 3 relative to the printing device 4 according to two different embodiments of the disclosure. The controller s generates the predefined movement path based on the data indicative of a 2D-form and controls the handling device 5 to move the printing device 4 along the predefined movement path 1 T. In particular, the controller 6 generates the length of the subpath of the predefined movement path passing along the printing device based on the data indicative of a 2D-form. The controller 6 further generates the predefined movement path 1 T based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component 22 of the article of apparel, in particular applying a scaling.

[0056] Figure 9a shows a predefined movement path 1 T of the printing device (not shown in full) along the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2 as a straight line in space, the line of printing nozzles 42, 42’ in a diagonal line moving from upper left to lower right. Figure 9b shows a predefined movement path 1 T of the printing device (not shown) along the first component 22 of the article of apparel 2 such that the distance between the support structure 3 and the multi-drop inkjet printing head 41 are substantially constant.

[0057] For both embodiments of Figures 9a and 9b, the impact of the predefined movement path 1 T during application of print 23 only depends on the relative movement of support structure 3 and printing device 4 with respect to each other. Therefore, Figures 9a and 9b disclose a predefined movement path 1 T of the printing device 4 moving relative to the support structure 3, and a predefined movement path 11 of the of support structure 3 moving with respect to the printing device 4 vice versa. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the Spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0058] LIST OF DESIGNATIONS

[0059] 1 manufacturing system 52 multi-axis arm

[0060] 11 , 1 T predefined movement 53 gripper path 25 6 controller

[0061] 2 article of apparel 61 plane image

[0062] 21 shoe 62 3D representation of the

[0063] 22 first component of the arfirst component of the artiticle of apparel cle of apparel

[0064] 23 print 30 63 distorted image

[0065] 24 outer surface of the first 64 projected form component 7 heating device

[0066] 25 layer formed by filament 8 plasma device

[0067] 26 helical filament 9 fixation device

[0068] 3 support structure 35 91 intermediate fixation de¬

[0069] 31 holding element vice

[0070] 32 slot nut 100 provision station

[0071] 4 printing device 101 delivery station

[0072] 41 multi-drop inkjet printing 102 application station head 40 103 extrusion nozzle

[0073] 42, 42’ printing nozzles 104 outlet orifice of the nozzle

[0074] 5 handling device 105 air outlet openings

[0075] 51 robot

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS1 . A manufacturing system (1 ) for fabricating an article of apparel (2), preferably a shoe (21 ), the manufacturing system (1 ) comprising: a. a support structure (3) configured to receive at least a first component (22) of the article of apparel (2); b. a printing device (4); and c. a handling device (5) configured to move the support structure (3) and / or the printing device (4) along a predefined movement path (11 ), wherein the printing device (4) is configured to apply a print (23) at least partially on the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2).

2. A manufacturing system (1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the handling device (5) is configured to move the support structure (3) along a predefined movement path (11 ) and the printing device (4) is stationary.

3. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the printing device (4) comprises at least one multi-drop inkjet printing head (41 ) comprising multiple printing nozzles (42) which are each configured to eject at least one ink-droplet onto the first component (22) of the article of apparel and the multiple printing nozzles (42) are preferably arranged in a line.

4. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one multi-drop inkjet printing head (41 ) is configured to adjust ink ejection pressure to adjust the size of disposed ink-droplets depending on the physical distance between the multi-drop inkjet printing head (41 ) and the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2).

5. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the manufacturing system (1 ) further comprises a controller (6) communicatively connected to the printing device (4) and to the handling device (5), the controller (6) being configured to: a. generate a distorted image (63) based on a transformation of data indicative of a 2D-form, and control the printing device to apply the distorted image (63) as the print (23); and / or b. generate the predefined movement path (11 ) based on the data indicative of a 2D-form and control the handling device (5) to move the support structure (3) and / or the printing device (4) along the predefined movement path (11 ).

6. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to claim 5, wherein generating the distorted image (63) is further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component (22) of the article of apparel and / or generating the predefined movement path (11 ) is further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component (22) of the article of apparel.

7. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the handling device (5) comprises a robot (51 ) comprising a multiaxis arm (52), which is configured to receive the support structure (3).

8. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the manufacturing system (1 ) further comprises a heating device (7) configured to heat up and / or a plasma device (8) configured to electrostatically charge the outer surface (24) of the first component (22) of the article of apparel, preferably before applying the print (23).

9. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a. the manufacturing system (1 ) further comprises an application station (102) which comprises an extrusion nozzle (103); b. wherein the extrusion nozzle (103) is configured to apply the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2) to the support structure (3), which first component (22) of the article of apparel (2) comprises a layer (25) formed by filament.

10. The manufacturing system (1 ) according to claim 9, wherein the manufacturing system (1 ) comprises a second handling device configured to move the support structure (3) relative to the application station (102) along a second predefined movement path.

11. A method for fabricating an article of apparel (2), preferably a shoe (21 ), by a manufacturing system (1 ) according to any of the preceding claims, comprising at least a support structure (3), a printing device (4) and a handling device (5), the method comprising at least the following steps: a. Arranging a first component (22) of the article of apparel on the support structure (3); b. Moving, by the handling device (5) of the manufacturing system (1 ), the support structure (3) with the thereon arranged first component (22) of the article of apparel (2) and / or the printing device (4) along a predefined movement path (11 ); c. Applying, by the printing device (4), a print (23) at least partially on the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2) .

12. The method according to claim 11 , the manufacturing system (1 ) further comprising a controller (6) and the method further comprising:: a. generating, by the controller, a distorted image (63), based on a transformation of the data indicative of a 2D-form, and controlling the printing device to apply the distorted image as the print (23); and / orb. generating, by the controller, the predefined movement path (11 ) based on the data indicative of a 2D-form and controlling the handling device (5) to move the support structure (3) and / or the printing device (4) along the predefined movement path (11 ).

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein generating the distorted image (63) is further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2) and / or generating the predefined movement path (11 ) is further based on data indicative of a size and shape of the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the data indicative of a 2D-form is a plane image (61 ), which expands in 2 dimensions and the data indicative of the size and shape of the first component (22) of the article of apparel (2) is a 3D representation of the first component of the article of apparel (62), and wherein generating the distorted image (63) comprises: a. simulating a vector-graphical projection of the plane image (61 ) to the surface of the 3D representation of the first component of the article of apparel (62) onto the surface of the 3D representation of the article of apparel (62), thereby creating a projected form (64); and b. generating the distorted image (63) using the projected form (64).

15. The method according to claim 14, whereina. generating the distorted image (63) includes generating a perpendicular back-projection of the projected form (64) onto a back-plane expanding in 2 dimensions to the surface of the 3D representation of the first component of the article of apparel (62), thereby creating the distorted image (63); and b. generating the predefined movement path (11 ) includes generating the predefined movement path (11 ) as a straight line in space, such that a normal vector of an outer surface (24) of the first component (22) which is foreseen to be printed is essentially parallel with re- spect to the line of flight of the ejected ink-droplet(s).

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein generating the predefined movement path (11 ) comprises optimizing the predefined movement path (11 ) such that the distance and / or rotation angle(s) between the multi-drop inkjet printing head (41 ) and the outer surface (24) of the first component (22) which is foreseen to be printed are substantially constant.

17. An article of apparel (2), preferably a shoe (21 ) obtained by the method according to any one of the claims 11 to 16.

Images