Shoe outsole made using composite sheet material
Provided are, among other things, systems, methods and techniques for making a shoe outsole and to shoe outsoles made using such techniques. In one such technique, a sheet of composite material is produced by extruding a base material together with a sheet of fabric material. The sheet of composite material is then cut into an outsole component, and a shoe outsole is fabricated using the outsole component.
1. A method of making a shoe outsole, comprising:
(a) producing a sheet of composite material by extruding a base material together
with a sheet of fabric material;
(b) cutting the sheet of composite material into an outsole component; and
(c) fabricating a shoe outsole using the outsole component,
wherein the sheet of fabric material is disposed at a surface layer of the sheet of composite material;
wherein said extruding comprises feeding the base material and the sheet of fabric material together through an extrusion device; and
wherein the base material and the sheet of fabric material together are at least one of pushed or drawn through a die of a desired profile shape in the extrusion device.
2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet of fabric material is disposed underneath the base material when the base material and the sheet of fabric material are extruded together.
3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the base material comprises at least one of: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), thermoplastic rubber (TPR) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).
4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the base material comprises a polymer.
5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein only a single side of the base material is embedded with the fabric material.
6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet of fabric material is comprised of a natural fabric material.
7. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising a step of impressing a three-dimensional pattern into the sheet of composite material prior to cutting the sheet of composite material into the outsole component.
8. A method according to claim 7 , wherein the three-dimensional pattern is impressed into the sheet of composite material using a roller.
9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the base material is extruded through an extrusion die that forms a three-dimensional tread pattern in a surface of the sheet of composite material.
10. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the base material is in at least one of a liquid in a semi-liquid state during the extruding.
11. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the extruding causes the sheet of fabric material to be embedded into the base material.
12. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the extruding is performed in an extrusion device, and wherein when the sheet of composite material exits the extrusion device it is carried along a conveyor belt and hardens before the cutting step.
13. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the outsole component is directly used as the shoe outsole.