Objective
Background The lasting and bottoming operations are crucial to good shoemaking as this is where the shoe is given its three- dimensional shape and where the shoe bottom is attached. During the lasting process the upper is stretched around the shoe last using a machine that pulls the upper. Poor machine control can result in a shoe that is of poor shape and of low customer appeal or can result in a shoe that fails in wear. The bottoming process is where the sole of the shoe is applied to the lasted upper commonly using adhesive and a combination of heat and pressure. Incorrectly set process parameters can lead to sole adhesion failure in wear and this is the major single cause of customer returns. The majority of shoe manufacturers in the Community are SMEs and their current method of setting up machines in the lasting and bottoming areas is dependent largely on following the suppliers' recommendations and then judging the results by eye. Improvements are then made by trial- and-error, which is very time consuming and leads to significant production losses. A means of measuring and interpreting the pressure, dynamically, between the upper and the last would greatly assist shoe manufacturers in the rapid set up and optimisation of the relevant machines and processes.
Objectives The objective of this project is to develop improved monitoring and control system for the lasting and bottoming operations. This will lead to improvements in quality of the finished product with greater efficiency in production due to faster machine set up times together with a better means of training new operatives. The expected benefits are: a. Enhanced quality by improving the appearance and fitting characteristics of the finished footwear leading to enhanced customer appeal. b. Fewer customer returns caused by failure of the shoe in wear. The single biggest cause of customer returns is poor sole adhesion, representing approximately 25% of all returns, and is of considerable concern to all European shoe manufacturers. c. Improved machine set up times in the lasting and bottoming area of shoemaking. This will significantly reduce production losses associated with resetting of machines and processes. d. An improved method of training of new operatives in the lasting and making areas.
Work programme To meet these objectives a pressure mapping system will be developed in the form of a re-usable pressure sensor array linked to a portable PC. The approach will be to identify and incorporate non-intrusive thin pressure sensors fixed to a re-usable and flexible substrate and interfaced to a portable computer running a purpose written programme to show the resulting pressure map. Experimentation will be undertaken to identify the optimum number and location of sensors that will provide sufficient information without overcomplicating the array. A vital part of the work will be to develop the software that will interpret the sensor measurements and then present the information generated on the computer screen in such a form that is meaningful to the operative so that the results can be acted upon.
State of progress The project has recently started. There is no progress to report at the moment.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringcontrol systems
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
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Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CRS - Cooperative research contractsCoordinator
NN29 7RY Wellingborough
United Kingdom