Layer laminating increases the cost effectiveness of custom and standard last manufacturing in the footwear industry

Mass customization is increasingly growing in importance in the footwear industry. In the footwear industry, lasts are the crucial element for most shoe components such as outsoles or heel caps. Until now, standard lasts have been milled following a handmade last template. This entails digitizing them first and then exporting the complexly generated 3-D data to a milling machine. The high manufacturing costs have induced many manufacturers to increasingly relocate their last production to countries with low labor costs. The object of a research project, toolless manufacturing employing laminated object manufacturing (LOM) particularly holds promise to significantly improve cost management of customized last production.