Patterned Composite Sheet Extrusion for Lower-Cost Shoe Soles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing materials for shoe soles face high manufacturing costs and poor environmental suitability, with challenges in minimizing import duties and carbon credits, particularly due to the high costs of raw materials and the unsatisfactory appearance of recycled materials.
Innovation Solution
The development of extrusion-based techniques for manufacturing composite sheet materials using a patterning template with openings, where the template and extrusion material can be made from different materials, including natural and recycled materials, to create a composite with alternating surface areas that reduce material costs and environmental impact while enhancing aesthetics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If recycled materials are used to reduce manufacturing costs and environmental impact, then cost and sustainability are improved, but the aesthetic appearance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines recycled materials (such as recycled rubber or plastic) with natural materials (such as natural fabric or leather) to create a composite sheet material. This composite structure allows the product to incorporate cost-effective and sustainable recycled materials while using natural materials in visible areas to maintain aesthetic appearance, thus resolving the contradiction between cost reduction and aesthetic quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different materials to different regions of the sheet material. Natural materials are positioned in areas where aesthetic appearance is important (such as visible surfaces), while recycled materials are used in less visible or functional areas. This local differentiation allows the product to achieve both cost efficiency and aesthetic quality in appropriate locations.
2Shape
If 100% natural materials are used to maximize aesthetic appeal and environmental benefits, then aesthetic and environmental properties are improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite material strategy where natural materials are used in proportions that maintain aesthetic appeal and environmental benefits, while recycled materials are incorporated to reduce manufacturing costs. The composite structure allows optimization of the natural-to-recycled material ratio to achieve the desired balance between aesthetics and cost-effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies natural materials selectively in areas where aesthetic appearance is most important, while using recycled materials in functional or less visible areas. This local quality approach ensures that the product maintains high aesthetic appeal in visible regions while achieving cost reduction through recycled material usage in other areas.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces manufacturing costs, minimizes environmental impact, and provides a cost-effective solution for shoe soles by utilizing at least 50% natural or recycled materials, improving the aesthetic appeal and functional properties such as slip resistance.
Implementation Method 1
extrusion-based techniques for manufacturing composite sheet material
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are, among other things, systems, methods and techniques for manufacturing sheet material. In one representative embodiment, a sheet of fabric material is positioned across a patterning template that has a number of openings; and the sheet of fabric material and the patterning template are fed through an extrusion device in which extrusion material coats the fabric material and forces the fabric material into the openings in the patterning template, thereby producing a composite sheet material.