View of a design stage of a women's boot on computer monitor The wide range of elements of the Crispin shoe CAD/CAM system, then supplied by United Shoe Machinery on their stand at the fair at Pirmasens, Germany, late 1990s
CAD/CAM in the footwear industry is the use of computers and graphics software for designing and grading of shoe upper patterns and, for manufacturing of cutting dies, shoe lasts and sole moulds. CAD/CAM software is a PC-based system, which is made up of program modules. Today, there are 2D and 3D versions of CAD/CAM systems in the shoe industry.
Computer aided design was introduced in the shoe industry in the 1970s. Initially, it was used primarily for pattern grading. It enabled manufacturers to perform complex grading relatively easily and quickly. CAD systems today have been developed with a much wider range of functions. Logos, textures, and other decorations can be incorporated into product designs of both the uppers and soles to help reinforce branding on all areas of the model. It automates routine procedures, increasing speed and consistency, whilst reducing the possibility of mistakes. CAD data can now be used effectively for a wide variety of activities across footwear manufacturing business. CAD/CAM generates data at the design stage, which can be used right through the planning and manufacturing stages.
Latest improvements in the CAD/CAM technology are:
Graphic capabilities and interconnectivity have improved enormously.
Software developments have progressively made systems more intuitive and easier to use.
With 2D sketch and paint modules, a serviceable sketch can be produced and then colour and texture can be added.
3D systems enable the last and design to be viewed from any perspective and several angles even simultaneously.
With CAD/CAM software, footwear manufacturers can cut their time to market dramatically and so increase market share and profitability. In addition, the power and flexibility of the software can overcome restrictions to the designer's creativity imposed by traditional methods.
Sole design
CAD/CAM software can be used to generate machining data for shoe sole models and moulds Shoe sole mould makers are able to strengthen their capabilities of mould design and production techniques to meet the market demands for shorter product life cycle, quality improvement and handling versatile pattern design. This helps especially sports shoe producers to manufacture products rapidly and to introduce them earlier than their competitors.
3D CAD/CAM is the core technology for shoe sole mould in the footwear industry and develops towards specialization.
Benefits of CAD/CAM in the mould manufacturing are:
Total modeling for rapid generation of design concepts and variations
Reverse engineering from existing models or parts
Easy design modification and morphing capability
Completely accurate designs regardless of complexity
Group grading of soles and uppers
Advanced decorating techniques
Realistic onscreen visualization
Rapid generation of molds from product designs
References and suppliers
Commercial suppliers of CAD CAM for the footwear industry are listed on Shoeinfonet.com: London College of Fashion library web site lists some of the same No specialised open sources suppliers are listed, although Wikipedia lists several free general purpose products for 2D CAD/CAM and some for 3D.
Related Research Articles
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing. Designs made through CAD software are helpful in protecting products and inventions when used in patent applications. CAD output is often in the form of electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. The terms computer-aided drafting (CAD) and computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) are also used.
Creo Parametric, formerly known, together with Creo Elements/Pro, as Pro/Engineer and Wildfire, is a solid modeling or CAD, CAM, CAE, and associative 3D modeling application, running on Microsoft Windows.
In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its inception through the engineering, design and manufacture, as well as the service and disposal of manufactured products. PLM integrates people, data, processes, and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprises.
PTC is a computer software and services company founded in the 1985 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was a pioneer in parametric, associative feature-based, solid computer-aided design (CAD) modeling software in 1988, including an Internet-based product for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) in 1998. PTC markets products and services and an Internet of things (IoT) and augmented reality (AR) platform for an partners and developers.
CAD/CAM refers to the integration of Computer-aided design (CAD) and Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Both of these require powerful computers. CAD software helps designers and draftsmen; CAM "reduces manpower costs" in the manufacturing process.
Tebis is a CAD/CAM software provided by Tebis AG, with headquarters in Martinsried near Munich/Germany. Development locations: Martinsried and Norderstedt, Germany International locations: China, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, USA.
CAD data exchange is a method of drawing data exchange used to translate between different computer-aided design (CAD) authoring systems or between CAD and other downstream CAx systems.
Zuken Inc. is a Japanese multinational corporation, specializing in software and consulting services for end-to-end electrical and electronic engineering. Zuken came into existence as a pioneer in the development of CAD systems in Japan to contribute to electronics manufacturing. The literal translation of Zuken is "graphics laboratory." Established in 1976 in Yokohama, Japan, it is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; net sales amounted to US$216 million for the year 2011.
The Dunlop KT26 was a running shoe made by Dunlop Sport (Australia), from 1978 to 2012. Originally designed by Jerry Stubberfield for the Osaga shoe company in the 1970s, "KT" was short for "Kinetic Technology" and "26" represents the number of miles in a marathon. The shoe featured a light weight upper, wedge shape and wide flared sole to spread impact and increase traction and a hard wearing rubber sole with a tread pattern of "cantilevered" large deep lugs and voids which provided 360° grip edges and was relatively self-cleaning making it useful in wet and muddy conditions. In 2003, Dunlop Footwear calculated it had sold more than 5 million pairs since release.
Delcam is a supplier of advanced CAD/CAM software for the manufacturing industry. The company has grown steadily since being founded formally in 1977, after initial development work at Cambridge University, UK. It is now a global developer of product design and manufacturing software, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in North America, South America, Europe and Asia with a total staff of over 800 people and local support provided from over 300 re-seller offices worldwide. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 6 February 2014, when it was acquired by Autodesk. It now operates as a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Autodesk.
Rapid prototyping is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using 3D printing or "additive layer manufacturing" technology.
Cimatron is an Israeli software company that produces CAD/CAM software for manufacturing, toolmaking and CNC programming applications.
WorkNC is a Computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software developed by Sescoi for multi-axis machining.
MEDUSA, is a CAD program used in the areas of mechanical and plant engineering by manufacturers and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies. The system's history is closely tied to the beginnings of mainstream CAD and the research culture fostered by Cambridge University and the UK government as well as the resulting transformation of Cambridge into a world-class tech centre in the 1980s.
NX, formerly known as "unigraphics", is an advanced high-end CAD/CAM/CAE, which has been owned since 2007 by Siemens Digital Industries Software. In 2000, Unigraphics purchased SDRC I-DEAS and began an effort to integrate aspects of both software packages into a single product which became Unigraphics NX or NX.
The FORAN system is an integrated CAD/CAM/CAE system developed by SENER for the design and production of practically any naval ship and offshore unit. It is a multidisciplinary and integrated system that can be used in all the ship design and production phases and disciplines. The System collects all the information in a single database. FORAN is mainly focused on the design of:
Fusion 360 is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and printed circuit board (PCB) design software application, developed by Autodesk. It is available for Windows, macOS and web browser, with simplified applications available for Android and iOS. Fusion 360 is licensed as a paid subscription, with a free limited home-based, non-commercial personal edition available.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
