METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A WOOL PILE FABRIC PRODUCT
A method of manufacturing a component for an article of footwear including providing a two-part mold, inserting a first material layer in the mold, pouring a polyurethane layer on the first material layer, placing a piece of a wool pile fabric on the polyurethane layer and closing the mold for a designated period of time for forming a wool pile fabric component such as a footwear insole. After the designated period of time the mold is opened and the molded wool pile fabric component is removed from the mold.
1 . A method of manufacturing a component for an article of footwear comprising:
providing a two-part mold;
inserting a first layer of a cushioning material in the mold;
pouring a polyurethane layer on the first material layer;
placing a piece of a wool pile fabric on the polyurethane layer;
closing the mold for a designated period of time for forming a wool pile fabric component; and
opening the mold and removing the molded wool pile fabric component after the designated period of time.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cushioning material is a laminated foam.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the laminated foam is one of an open-cell polyurethane foam and a memory foam.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cushioning material layer is a piece of polyurethane laminated foam.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polyurethane layer has a thickness of 2 mm.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the wool pile fabric component is a footwear insole.
7 . A method of manufacturing a component for an article of footwear comprising:
providing a two-part mold;
inserting a wool pile fabric piece having a wool fiber side and a scrim side in the mold;
pouring a liquid foam on the scrim side of the wool pile fabric piece; and
closing the mold for a designated period of time for forming a wool pile fabric component; and
opening the mold and removing the molded wool pile fabric component after the designated period of time.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the liquid foam is one of an open-cell polyurethane foam and a memory foam.
9 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising waiting a designated period of time after pouring the liquid foam on the scrim side of the wool pile fabric and prior to closing the mold to allow the liquid foam to penetrate through the scrim and engage at least a portion of the wool fibers.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the liquid foam bonds with 0.5 to 1.0 mm of a length of the wool fibers.
11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the wool pile fabric component is a footwear insole.