Textured Bladder Molding with Interchangeable Mold Cartridges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for forming bladders in footwear fail to efficiently produce bladders with textured surfaces, limiting design flexibility and requiring costly tooling for various shapes and sizes.
Innovation Solution
A modular mold system with interchangeable mold cartridges and vacuum-assisted molding process to create bladders with textured exteriors, allowing for quick adaptation to different sizes and surface patterns without the need for multiple mold plates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional mold systems are used to form bladders, then manufacturing process is simple, but design flexibility and ability to produce varied textures is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mold system is divided into separate components: a base mold plate and interchangeable mold cartridges. Each cartridge can be removed and replaced to create different bladder textures and shapes, enabling design flexibility without requiring a completely new mold system for each variation.
Solution Approach 2:
A single base mold plate can accommodate multiple different mold cartridges, each designed for specific texture patterns or bladder shapes. This universal base structure allows one mold system to perform multiple functions and produce varied bladder designs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple mold plates are used to produce different bladder shapes and textures, then design options increase, but tooling costs and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of maintaining multiple complete mold plates, the system segments the mold into a shared base plate and interchangeable cartridges. This reduces the total number of mold components needed, as the base plate serves all designs while only the cartridges need to be varied.
Solution Approach 2:
The interchangeable mold cartridges are designed to fit within or attach to the base mold plate structure, creating a nested configuration where multiple design capabilities are contained within a single mold system framework.
3Productivity
If conventional molding processes are used, then manufacturing process is straightforward, but production efficiency for varied designs is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The mold system transitions from a static, fixed design to a dynamic configuration where mold cartridges can be quickly swapped between production runs. This allows the manufacturing process to adapt efficiently to different design requirements without complex retooling.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing which mold cartridge is installed in the base plate, the system can rapidly alter the molding parameters (texture patterns, shapes) between productions, enabling efficient manufacturing of varied bladder designs using the same base process.
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
Enables cost-effective production of bladders with varied shapes and textures, enhancing design options while reducing tooling costs and inventory requirements.
Implementation Method 1
A vacuum is drawn through a network of vacuum ports formed in the mold plates to draw the barrier sheets against the mold cavity surfaces
Data Source
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AI summary
A method including inserting into a mold a first tool having a first surface. The method further includes printing a second tool from a polymer material and inserting the second tool into the first tool. The second tool having a smaller wall thickness than the first tool and including a second surface opposing and in contact with the first surface of the first tool and a third surface formed on an opposite side of the second tool than the second surface.