Sole mold for manufacturing a sole
A sole mold for manufacturing a sole from a plurality of particles includes at least one first opening for supplying the particles, and at least two second openings for supplying a gaseous and/or liquid medium to bond and/or fuse the particles together. At least a portion of the sole mold is manufactured by an additive manufacturing method.
1. A sole mold for manufacturing a sole from a plurality of particles, the mold comprising:
at least one first opening for supplying the particles;
at least two second openings for supplying a gaseous and/or liquid medium to bond and/or fuse the particles together;
wherein at least a portion of the sole mold is manufactured by an additive manufacturing method; and
wherein up to 50% of the surface of the sole mold is provided with the at least two second openings.
2. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein the at least two second openings have a smaller length than the average size of the particles to be molded in the sole mold.
3. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein the at least two second openings are provided with a biggest dimension of up to 5.0 mm.
4. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of sole mold comprises a thickness of equal or less than 10 mm.
5. The sole mold of claim 4 , wherein the portion is provided in the side wall of the sole mold.
6. The sole mold of claim 4 , wherein the portion comprises essentially the complete sole mold.
7. The sole mold of one of the preceding claims, wherein the sole mold comprises a top part, a bottom part and a side wall; and wherein the at least two second openings are provided in the side wall.
8. The sole mold of claim 7 , wherein the at least two second openings are further provided in the top part, the bottom part, and the side wall.
9. The sole mold of claim 1 , further comprising at least one recess and/or at least one projection to position a pre-manufactured outsole.
10. The sole mold of claim 9 , wherein the at least two second openings are arranged adjacent to the at least one recess and/or at least one projection.
11. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein the at least two second openings are arranged in an essentially regular pattern.
12. The sole mold of claim 1 , further comprising a means for closing the at least one first opening.
13. The sole mold of claim 1 , further comprising a means for holding a supporting element inside the mold.
14. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein the mold comprises a means for ejecting a manufactured sole from the sole mold.
15. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the sole mold comprising the at least two openings is manufactured by an additive manufacturing method.
16. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein the at least two second openings are arranged in a substantially regular pattern.
17. The sole mold of claim 1 , further comprising a means for closing the at least one first opening.
18. The sole mold of claim 1 , wherein the sole mold comprises a plurality of first openings and wherein the first openings are provided with different shapes.
19. An arrangement of a plurality of sole molds of claim 1 .
20. The arrangement of a plurality of sole molds of claim 19 , wherein infrastructure for gaseous and/or liquid medium is shared among the plurality of sole molds.