Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss sports shoe manufacturer On has developed a process to make shoes in minutes instead of hours. After five years of research and development, the revolutionary technology is ready for industrial-sized production.
Complex production
According to Nils Altrogge, director for innovation and research at On, around 80 percent of today’s shoes are handmade. Separate manufacturers produce, assemble, glue, and join the parts of a shoe. The complex process is spread across many companies, most of them based in Asia. On average, up to 100 people and 200 hands are involved in producing a running shoe. It takes 100 steps per shoe to assemble 35 to 40 parts. Just the assembly needs several hours and takes place in several locations, Altrogge told the Swiss financial paper Finanz und Wirtschaft.
The new production process invented by On involves a fully automated spray process. This shoe only consists of seven parts. A pair is made in six minutes because the upper material is applied directly onto the last in three dimensions. The upper and the sole parts are fused by heat. The final step is to apply the colors using automated printing technology.
Double Helion HF hyper foam – over 40% bio-based – adds high energy return and impact absorption. Weighing just 170 g, the shoe has only the essential elements for speed, propulsion, and performance. The first version of the shoe intended for fast training or competitions will be available in the fall to the general running public under the name Cloudboom Strike LS for 330 US dollars.
Full automation
The manufacturing process starts with small thermoplastic beads which are melted in a proprietary way and then sprayed three-dimensionally onto the shoe model guided by a robot arm. On calls the result Light Spray, a new upper shoe technology made from just one material. Each shoe requires a 1.5 km long spray filament, which is sprayed more or less densely.
Depending on the function, stability, breathability, or flexibility, the sprayed areas are thinner or thicker. At the heel, for example, the hold must be particularly thick because the focus is on stability. Spraying is based on several thousands of programmed data points. The upper material does not need laces because the shoe fits like a sock.
According to On, the new process emits up to 75 percent less carbon dioxide than the production of a conventional upper material. In general, the material wear per shoe is much lower. That is another reason why this approach has great potential for developing circular products, meaning the entire material of a shoe can be recycled. The sole is currently still produced conventionally, but On is working on a new solution.
The robots could run anywhere in the world, including Switzerland. Now, the Swiss manufacturer is facing the big question of whether millions of shoes should be made in this novel style.
Text: SCCIJ based on On material
