Processing a thermoplastic textile

1. A method for generating a pattern of indentations in a surface of a thermoplastic textile, the method comprising:

processing the thermoplastic textile with a mold comprising a first subunit comprising:

a base; and

at least one molding feature extending into the base, from the base, or a combination thereof and adapted to create a subpattern of the pattern;

wherein the first subunit is exchangeable;

wherein the base forms a footprint of the first subunit; and

wherein the footprint of the first subunit is different than a shape of the at least one molding feature;

fusing an indentation of the pattern of indentations into the thermoplastic textile by applying heat and pressure; and

exchanging the first subunit with a second subunit, wherein the footprint of the first subunit is different than a footprint of the second subunit.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising producing or modifying the first subunit with a rapid prototyping device prior to processing the thermoplastic textile.

3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:

a processing temperature of a portion of the mold is larger than or equal to 70° C. and smaller than or equal to 220° C.;

a processing time is larger than or equal to 3 s and smaller than or equal to 150 s; or

a processing pressure is larger than or equal to 0.2 bar and smaller than or equal to 5 bar.

4. The method according to claim 1 , comprising forming a piece of apparel using the thermoplastic textile, wherein the piece of apparel comprises a shoe.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the thermoplastic textile comprises a non-woven fabric or a pre-joined composite material, wherein the non-woven fabric or the pre-joined composite material comprises a layer of melt blown non-woven fabric, and wherein the piece of apparel comprises the fused indentation.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the fused indentation comprises an outer edge region comprising at least one of a uniformly decreasing density, a uniformly decreasing degree of fusing, or a uniformly decreasing degree of compression.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of a size or a shape of the footprint of the first subunit is different than at least one of a size or a shape of the footprint of the second subunit.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising exchanging the first subunit using a robotic actuator configured to grip and translate the first subunit and the second subunit.

9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising incorporating a third subunit to form a tessellating pattern with the first subunit and the third subunit.

10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising connecting, via a connection element, the first subunit to the third subunit to create an additional subpattern of the pattern.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the indentation of the pattern of indentations has a minimal area of larger than or equal to 2 mm 2 and smaller than or equal to 30 cm 2 .

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the indentation of the pattern of indentations is substantially transparent.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first subunit is adapted to provide the subpattern with different properties than a different portion of the pattern, wherein the different properties comprise at least one of a mechanical property or an optical property.

14. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:

inserting a separator material between the thermoplastic textile and at least one of a surface of the mold or a surface of the first subunit; or

applying a release agent to at least one of the surface of the mold or the surface of the first subunit.

15. A method for generating a pattern of indentations in a surface of a thermoplastic textile, the method comprising:

processing the thermoplastic textile with a mold comprising a subunit comprising:

a base; and

at least one molding feature extending into the base, from the base, or a combination thereof and adapted to create a subpattern of the pattern;

wherein the subunit is reconfigurable;

wherein the base forms a footprint of the subunit; and

wherein the footprint of the subunit is different than a shape of the at least one molding feature;

fusing an indentation of the pattern of indentations into the thermoplastic textile by applying heat and pressure; and

reconfiguring a spatial arrangement of the footprint of the subunit within the mold from a first spatial arrangement to a second spatial arrangement, wherein the first spatial arrangement is different from the second spatial arrangement.

16. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising forming a piece of apparel using the thermoplastic textile, wherein the piece of apparel comprises a shoe.

17. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising reconfiguring the subunit using a robotic actuator configured to grip and translate the subunit.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the indentation of the pattern of indentations is substantially transparent.

19. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the subunit is adapted to provide the subpattern with different properties than a different portion of the pattern, wherein the different properties comprise at least one of a mechanical property or an optical property.

20. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising at least one of:

inserting a separator material between the thermoplastic textile and at least one of a surface of the mold or a surface of the subunit; or

applying a release agent to at least one of the surface of the mold or the surface of the subunit.