具体实施方式：
[0027]In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant disclosure. However, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, systems, components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown, but to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.
[0028]In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant disclosure. However, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, systems, components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown, but to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.
[0029]The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise,”“comprises,” and/or “comprising,”“include,”“includes,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
[0030]It will be understood that the term “system,”“engine,”“unit,”“module,” and/or “block” used herein are one method to distinguish different components, elements, parts, sections or assembly of different levels in ascending order. However, the terms may be displaced by another expression if they achieve the same purpose.
[0031]It will be understood that when a unit, engine, module, or block is referred to as being “on,”“connected to,” or “coupled to,” another unit, engine, module, or block, it may be directly on, connected or coupled to, or communicate with the other unit, engine, module, or block, or an intervening unit, engine, module, or block may be present, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
[0032]These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings are not to scale.
[0033]A 3D printing method is widely used in various fields (e.g., footwear products manufacturing field). In some embodiments, a 3D footwear product may be printed using a 3D printing method such as a stereolithography printing method, a fused deposition modeling printing method, a laser sintering printing method, etc. However, a process of the printing of the 3D footwear product is complicated. For example, different footwear products have different shapes, and multiple parts of each footwear product may have curved arcs. If a whole 3D footwear product is print directly, a supporting component needs to be constructed on a model of the 3D footwear product. The supporting component is printed during the process of the printing of the whole 3D footwear product to support the 3D footwear product being formed. After the printing of the whole 3D footwear product is completed, the supporting component needs to be removed from the whole 3D footwear product, which is complicated.
[0034]An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a 3D footwear product. The method may include one or more of the following operations. Foot feature data may be obtained. The foot feature data may include a size of a foot. A planar model of the 3D footwear product may be constructed based on the foot feature data. The planar model may include a body region and a connection structure connected to the body region. A planar product of the 3D footwear product may be printed using a 3D printing method based on the planar model. The planar product may be assembled into the 3D footwear product. In this way, the 3D footwear product may be obtained based on the planar model, which avoids the construction of a supporting component model and the separation of the supporting component and the footwear product after the printing is completed, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process of the 3D footwear product, and reducing manufacturing difficulty.
[0035]In addition, the planar model of the 3D footwear product may be constructed based on foot feature data of a user, thereby realizing customization of the 3D footwear product based on the foot feature data of the user. The method for manufacturing a 3D footwear product of the present disclosure may be used to manufacture a shoe cover, an upper, a sole, a whole shoe, etc., of a 3D footwear product. It should be noted that the method for manufacturing a 3D footwear product of the present disclosure described below is merely provided as an example, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The methods disclosed herein may be applied to manufacture any other products, such as handicrafts, daily necessities, etc.
[0036]FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for manufacturing a 3D footwear product according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The operations of the illustrated process presented below are intended to be illustrative. In some embodiments, the process 100 may be accomplished with one or more additional operations not described, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations of the process 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1 and described below is not intended to be limiting.
[0037]In 110, foot feature data may be obtained. The foot feature data may include at least a size of a foot.
[0038]In some embodiments, the foot feature data may include a size of a foot corresponding to a 3D footwear product to be printed. A size of the 3D footwear product may be designed based on the foot feature data. For example, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating exemplary foot feature data of a foot according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the foot feature data of the foot may include at least a length L1 of the foot and a width L2 of the foot. The length L1 of the foot refers to a distance between the last end of the heel of the foot (i.e., the end of the heel away from the tiptoe) to the tiptoe of the foot (i.e., the tip of the longest toe). The width L2 of the foot refers to a maximum distance between the left side and the right side of the foot. A length and a width of the 3D footwear product may be designed based on the length of the foot and the width of the foot. In some embodiments, other foot feature data may be determined based on proportional relationships between values of other foot feature data (e.g., a height of the instep of the foot, a thickness of the thumb of the foot, etc.) and the length of the foot or the width of the foot. The proportional relationships may be default values stored in a database. The proportional relationships may be experience values determined by a user (e.g., an engineer). For example, if the 3D footwear product is a footwear product of an adult men, an average of heights of the insteps of adult male may be determined as the default value of the height of the instep of the foot corresponding to the 3D footwear product.
[0039]In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the foot feature data may also include a height L3 of the instep, a thickness L4 of the thumb, a distance L5 of the most concave position of the heel and the tiptoe, and a width L6 of the heel. The height L3 of the instep refers to a maximum distance between the sole of the foot and the instep of the foot. The thickness L4 of the thumb refers to a maximum distance between the bottom of the thumb and the back of the thumb. The most concave position of the heel refers to a position of the heel closest to the ankle. The most concave position of the heel is roughly below the Achilles tendon. The distance L5 of the most concave position of the heel and the tiptoe refers to a distance between the most concave position of the heel and the tip of the longest toe. The width L6 of the heel refers to a distance between the left side and the right side of the heel. In some embodiments, the foot feature data may further include other information of the foot, e.g., a curvature of the heel, a length of each toe, a curvature of the instep. In some embodiments, the foot feature data may include a contour of the sole of the foot and/or a 3D contour of the foot. The contour of the sole of the foot may be represented as an image of the contour of the foot, which may indicate a shape and a size of the sole of the foot. The 3D contour of the foot may be represented as a 3D image of the contour of the entire foot, which may indicate a shape and a size of the entire foot. In some embodiments, the contour of the sole of the foot and/or the 3D contour of the foot may be acquired by a photographing device, a scanning device, etc. For example, the contour of the sole of a user may be acquired by scanning the sole of the foot of the user.
[0040]In some embodiments, the foot feature data of a user may be acquired by measuring the foot of the user. In some embodiments, the size (e.g., the length of the foot, the width of the foot, etc.) of the user may be manually measured using a measurement tool, and the measured foot feature data may be manually input into a processing device (e.g., a computer for constructing a planar model or a 3D model). Exemplary measurement tools may include a tape measure, a vernier caliper, or the like. In some embodiments, the size of the foot of the user, the contour of the heel, and/or the 3D contour of the foot may be measured by a measuring device. The measuring device may send measurement data to a processing device (e.g., a computer for constructing a planar model or a 3D model) (e.g., via a network). Specifically, the measuring device may capture or scan the foot of the user to obtain a 2D image and/or a 3D image of the foot of the user. The contour of the heel and/or the 3D contour of the foot may be obtained based on the 2D image and/or the 3D image of the foot of the user. In some embodiments, the measuring device may determine the size of the foot of the user based on the 2D image and/or the 3D image of the foot of the user. Alternatively, the measuring device may send the 2D image and/or the 3D image of the foot of the user to a processing device. The processing device may determine the size of the foot of the user based on the received 2D image and/or the 3D image of the foot of the user. In some embodiments, the measuring device may include a photographing device, a scanning device, or the like. Exemplary photographing devices may include a digital camera, an infrared camera, a low-light camera, a thermal imaging camera, or other device that can be used for visual records. Exemplary scanning devices may include a 3D scanner (e.g., a laser scanner, a 3D phase scanner, etc.), an ultrasound imaging device, or the like.
[0041]Multiple parts of the 3D footwear product may be designed based on the foot feature data, which may make the manufactured footwear product fit the shape of the foot of the user to improve the wearing comfort of the 3D footwear product. For example, for a user with a high instep, if a footwear product is designed and manufactured only based on the length and the width of the foot of the user, and other size of the footwear products is designed and manufactured based on a default value of the foot feature data (e.g., an average height of instep of adult male is used as a height of the instep of the user), the height of the instep of the user may not match the size of the manufactured 3D footwear product. When the user wears the footwear product, the user may feel uncomfortable because the footwear product squeezes the foot of the user (e.g., the instep of the user).
[0042]In 120, a planar model of the 3D footwear product may be constructed based on the foot feature data.
[0043]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary planar model of a shoe cover according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the planar model may include a body region 200 and a connection structure 300 connected to the body region 200. The body region 200 may be configured to form a surface of the 3D footwear product after printing. The connection structure 300 may be configured to connect multiple parts of the surface (e.g., a planar product) of the 3D footwear product after printing, to realize the assembly of the 3D footwear product.
[0044]In some embodiments, the planar model may be directly constructed based on the foot feature data. For example, the planar model may be constructed based on the foot feature data by a designer using a modeling software. In some embodiments, the planar model may be automatically generated by a computer device based on the foot feature data according to related algorithms stored in the computer device. Alternatively, after the computer device automatically generates an initial planar model, the designer may further adjust the initial planar model to construct the planar model.
[0045]In some embodiments, a 3D model of the 3D footwear product may be constructed based on the foot feature data. The planar model may be determined based on the 3D model. The 3D model may be manually constructed by a designer based on the foot-based data using a modeling software. Alternatively, the 3D model may be automatically generated by a computer device based on related algorithms stored in the computer device. Alternatively, after the computer device automatically generates an initial 3D model, the designer may further adjust the initial 3D model to construct the 3D model. Merely by way of example, after the foot feature data (e.g., the length of the foot and the width of the foot) is obtained, the designer may draw a 3D model of the foot of the user based on a proportion of foot feature data in the modeling software, and then draw the 3D model of the 3D footwear product based on the 3D model of the foot. Alternatively, after data of the 3D contour of the foot is obtained, the designer may directly draw the 3D model of the 3D footwear product based on the data of the 3D contour of the foot. Alternatively, after the computer device receives the foot feature data, the computer device may automatically construct the 3D model of the 3D footwear product based on the related algorithms stored in the computer device. Exemplary modeling software may include Rhino, SolidWorks, Catia, UG, etc.
[0046]In some embodiments, sizes of multiple parts of the planar model may be determined based on the 3D model. In some embodiments, image data of the planar model may be obtained by performing a flattening operation on the 3D model.
[0047]In some embodiments, a plurality of planar models (or 3D models) of 3D footwear products corresponding to different foot feature data may be stored in a database. When foot feature data of a user is obtained, a planar model (or a 3D model) of a 3D footwear product matched with the shape of the foot of the user may be obtained from the plurality of planar models (or 3D models) in the database. For example, a length of the foot may be divided into multiple ranges, and each range may correspond to a planar model (or a 3D model), and a corresponding planar model (or a corresponding 3D model) may be selected based on the length of the foot of the user.
[0048]In some embodiments, the planar model may include a hollow region 240. The hollow region 240 may correspond to a curved region of the 3D footwear product. By setting the hollow region 240, it is possible to avoid wrinkles in a region of the planar model corresponding to the curved region of 3D footwear product, so that the planar model can be printed as planar product easily. Moreover, the hollow region 240 may meet an air permeable demand and a shape design requirement of the 3D footwear product. In addition, by setting the hollow region 240, it is possible to reduce the material of the 3D footwear product and the time consumed by the printing process. In the process of determining image data of the planar model based on image data of the 3D model (e.g., in the process of flattening a 3D model to obtain a plane model), the hollow region 240 may correspond to a curved region of the 3D footwear product, so that the planar model determined based on the 3D model is flat. That is, when the planar model is folded or assembled into the 3D footwear product, the hollow region 240 on the planar model may correspond to the curved region of the 3D model (e.g., the tiptoe region, the heel region, etc.). In some embodiments, the planar model may be continuous and uninterrupted, that is, the planar model does not include the hollow region 240.
[0049]In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the hollow region 240 may correspond to a topline region 401, a heelpiece region 402, a toe cap region 403, a region corresponding to an instep 404, a region corresponding to a thumb, a region 405 corresponding to a little finger, of the 3D footwear product, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the hollow region 240 may correspond to other regions of the 3D footwear product, such as, an ankle region, a region corresponding to the sole of the foot. The hollow region 240 corresponding to the curved region of the 3D footwear product may be designed on the planar model, so that the planar model determined based on the 3D model is flat, which may be convenient for subsequent printing. A position, a shape, and a size of the hollow region 240 may be designed by a designer according to features of the 3D footwear product. For example, the shape of the hollow region 240 may adapted to the shape of the corresponding curved region. For example, for a curved region with a relatively large curvature, an area of the corresponding hollow region 240 may be relatively large.
[0050]In 130, a planar product of the 3D footwear product may be printed based on the planar model using a 3D printing method.
[0051]In some embodiments, size data of the planar model may be sent to a 3D printing device or a processing software of the 3D printing device to implement 3D printing. In some embodiments, image data of the planar model may be sent to the 3D printing device or the processing software of the 3D printing device to implement 3D printing.
[0052]The 3D printing method may include a stereolithography printing method, a fused deposition modeling printing method, a laser sintering printing method, or the like. Material for the 3D printing may include a bondable material such as a powder metal or resin. In some embodiments, the 3D printing device may include a stereolithography 3D printer, a fused deposition modeling 3D printer, a laser sintering 3D printer, or the like. The processing software of the 3D printing device may include Cura, EasyPrint 3D, SLIC3R, NetFabb Basic, etc.
[0053]In some embodiments, the 3D printing method may be the stereolithography printing method. The stereolithography printing method has the advantages of fast printing speed and high printing accuracy. The printing material for the stereolithography printing method may include resin material. The resin material may be flexible and elastic, which may make the planar product easy to bend, and can meet elasticity requirements of the footwear product.
[0054]Merely by way of example, the planar product of the 3D footwear product may be printed using the stereolithography printing method. The processing software (e.g., Cura, EasyPrint 3D, SLIC3R, NETFABB BASIC, etc.) of the 3D printer may divide the planar model of the 3D footwear product with a certain thickness into a plurality of cured layers along a thickness direction, and then a stereolithography printer may sequentially expose the plurality of cured layers. The thickness of each cured layer may be the same or different. For example, the planar model may be divided into a first cured layer, a second cured layer, and a third cured layer. The stereolithography printer may sequentially expose the first cured layer, the second cured layer, and the third cured layer. The first cured layer may be formed on a forming table of the printer, the second cured layer may be formed on the formed first cured layer, and the third cured layer may be formed on the formed second cured layer. The thickness of the first cured layer, the thickness of the second cured layer, and the thickness of the third cured layer may be the same, partially the same, or different. For example, the thickness of the first cured layer may be 1.5 mm, the thickness of the second cured layer may be 1.0 mm, and the thickness of the third cured layer may be 0.5 mm. Alternatively, the thickness of the first cured layer, the thickness of the second cured layer, and the thickness of the third cured layer may both be 1.0 mm. In some embodiments, cured regions of the first cured layer, the second curable layer, and the third cured layer may be sequentially reduced, so that the surface of the planar product is uneven, and the 3D footwear product may have textures to meet customized requirements of the user for textures.
[0055]In 140, the planar product may be bended according to a preset bending process, and the connection structure may be connected according to a preset connection relationship.
[0056]In some embodiments, after the planar product of the 3D footwear product is obtained, the planar product may be bended according to the preset bending process, and the connection structure of the planar product may be connected according to the preset connection relationship, to assemble the planar product into the 3D footwear product. The preset bending process and the preset connection relationship may be determined according to the structure of the planar product and the type of 3D footwear product. In some embodiments, operation 140 may be performed during the manufacturing of the 3D footwear product. In some embodiments, operation 140 may be performed by the user when the user uses the 3D footwear product. The planar product may be assembled into the 3D footwear product when the user uses the 3D footwear product, which may facilitate to store and carry the 3D footwear product.
[0057]In some embodiments, the connection of the connection structure may include buckling, bonding, snapping, or the like. For example, the connection structure may include two connectors. A button may be configured on one connector, a buttonhole may be configured on the other connector, and the two connectors may be buckled together. As another example, the two connectors may be bonded together by an adhesive or a hot melt method. As still another example, a raised part may be configured on one connector, and a groove may be configured on the other connector. The raised part may be placed in the groove to achieve the snapping of the two connectors. Alternatively, after the raised part is placed in the groove, the two connectors may be bonded by the adhesive to make the connection of the two connectors more secure. In some embodiments, the connection structure may include a plurality of connectors, and the plurality of connectors may be connected via a rope or a tape 504, as shown in FIG. 9. For example, a rope may be provided on each of the plurality of connectors. The plurality of connectors may be connected by tying the ropes of the plurality of connectors. As another example, at least one connecting hole may be provided on each of the plurality of connectors. The plurality of connectors may be connected by passing the rope through the at least one connecting hole provided on each of the plurality of connectors.
[0058]In some embodiments, the connection mode of the connection structure may include a thermally curing connection. When the planar product of the 3D footwear product is printed using the stereolithography printing method, the printing material may include a dual-cured resin. By using the dual-cured resin, after the planar product is obtained after light curing molding (i.e., printing), the planar product may be bent according to the preset bending process, the connection structure of the planar product may be connected (e.g., a preliminary physical connection by overlapping or snapping), and the bent and connected planar product may be thermally cured to obtain the 3D footwear product. Specifically, the thermal curing may be achieved by heating. In this case, the plane product obtained by light curing the plane model of the 3D footwear product may include an uncured thermal curing component (i.e., the dual-cured resin). The connection structure of the plane product may be preliminarily physically connected (e.g., by overlapping or snapping) according to the preset connection relationship. Since the uncured thermal curing component (i.e., the dual-cured resin) is sticky, the connection structure may further be bonded via the uncured thermal curing component. During the thermal curing process, the uncured thermal curing component may be cured to further connect the connection structure. In the process of stereolithography printing using the dual-cured resin, it may be difficult to achieve a stable connection of the connection structure if only physical connections (e.g., overlapping or snapping) are used. After the preliminary physical connection of the connection structure, the thermal curing connection of the connection structure may make the connection of the connection structure more stable. In addition, by completing the connection of the connection structure during the thermal curing process, it is possible to eliminate the need for adhesive bonding, which may make the 3D footwear product more environmentally friendly.
[0059]In some embodiments, the 3D footwear product may be a shoe cover. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary shoe cover 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The shoe cover 700 may be used to fit with a preset shoe body to form a whole shoe. The preset shoe body may be pre-made. In some embodiments, the preset shoe body may be manufactured by the 3D printing. For example, the preset shoe body may include an upper and a sole. The shoe cover 700 may be set over the upper and the sole to fix the upper and the sole to obtain a whole shoe. In some embodiments, the upper and/or the sole may be fixed to the shoe cover by stitching, bonding, etc. In some embodiments, the upper and the sole may be connected using an adhesive. The use of the shoe cover may reduce the use of the adhesive, which is more environmentally friendly. Moreover, the shoes made by the shoe cover 700 may be dismantled. Accordingly, when the upper or the sole is damaged, only the damaged portion needs to be replaced.
[0060]In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the body region 200 of the planar model of the shoe cover 700 may include a vamp 210, a left quarter 220, and a right quarter 230. The left quarter 220 and the right quarter 230 may both be connected to a rear side of the vamp 210. The vamp 210 of the shoe cover 700 may substantially correspond to the instep of the foot. The left quarter 220 may substantially correspond to the left side of the foot. The right quarter 230 may substantially correspond to the right side of the foot.
[0061]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary 3D model of a shoe cover according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a side view of an exemplary 3D model of a shoe cover according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is an upward view of an exemplary 3D model of a shoe cover according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the hollow region 240 may include a first hollow portion 241 provided in the topline region 401, a second hollow portion 242 provided in the heelpiece region 402, a third hollow portion 243 provided in the toe cap region 403, a fourth hollow portion 244 provided in the region corresponding to the instep 404 in the forefoot upper, a fifth hollow portion 245 provided in the region corresponding to the thumb in the forefoot upper, and a sixth hollow portion 246 provided in the region 405 corresponding to the little finger in the forefoot upper.
[0062]As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the connection structure 300 may include a first connector 301, a second connector 302, a third connector 303, and a fourth connector 304. The first connector 301 may be connected to a left side of the vamp 210. The second connector 302 may be connected to a right side of the vamp 210. The third connector 303 may be connected to a left side of the left quarter 220. The fourth connector 304 may be connected to a right side of the right quarter 230. In some embodiments, the preset bending process may include following operations. A region of the planar product corresponding to the left quarter 220 and a region of the planar product corresponding to the right quarter 230 may be bent down relative to a region of the planar product corresponding to the vamp 210, to roughly form a shape of a shoe. A left side of the region of the planar product corresponding to the vamp 210 may be bent down. A right side of the region of the planar product corresponding to the vamp 210 may be bent down. A left side of the region of the planar product corresponding to the left quarter 220 may be may be bent to the right. A right side of the region of the planar product corresponding to the right quarter 230 may be bent to the left. The preset connection relationship may include that the first connector 301 is connected to the second connector 302, and the third connector 303 is connected to the fourth connector 304. The first connector 301 and the second connector 302 may be connected at the bottom of the forefoot of the foot, and the third connector 303 and the fourth connector 304 may be connected at the bottom of the backfoot of the foot. By setting the first connector 301, the second connector 302, the third connector 303, and the fourth connector 304, bending the planar product according to the preset bending method, and connecting the connection structure according to the preset connection relationship, the planar product may be assembled into the shoe cover 700 easily and conveniently, and the structure of the shoe cover 700 may be stable.
[0063]In some embodiments, the connection structure 300 may include a fifth connector 305 and a sixth connector 306. The fifth connector 305 may be connected to a rear side of the left quarter 220. The sixth connector 306 may be connected to a rear side of the right quarter 230. The preset bending process may include following operations. A rear side (of the region) of the planar pro