Polymer injection moulding for shoe soles production

Abstract

This thesis contains an example of an industrial Research and Development (R&D) project in order to start a new line for shoe soles production in Spain, more specifically in the Community of Valencia, because there is concentrated two thirds of the national footwear industry. Firstly, the suitable material candidates which specifically fit the production requirements were discussed. In order to choose the right one, a couple of different polymers have been considered: polyolefins and/or polyurethanes. Secondly, an economical study has been made to review the feasibility of the project. Besides, after making the market analysis a strategy of differentiation has been chosen in order to enter the shoes’ market successfully. The project also contains the design of the soles and the aluminium moulds. These mechanical designs have been modelled and tested within Solidworks tool. Thanks to this CAD software, the essential mechanical results calculated for this product has been simulated.