A Structured Approach to the Design of Shoe Lasts

Abstract

The foundation for sculptured feature-based shoe last design, using extended form (EF) feature methods, is presented. The EF approach is particularly suited to sculptured surface products that exhibit parametric variation throughout a set or family, such as shoe lasts. Some underlying principles and issues relevent to shoe lasts and common to sculptured products that can be usefully modelled by the EF feature approach are also discussed. An initial feature anatomy for a common shoe style is proposed to support the need for localized shape control for current and future design requirements. The following conclusions are reached: it is possible to decompose a shoe last into a feature anatomy for EF feature-based design; there are issues common to sculptured products, including shoe lasts, that are specifically addressed and dealt with effectively within the EF method; an EF feature-based approach shows significant potential to benefit last design efficiency, enhance size grading, and improve manufacturing processes; more work needs to be done to evaluate the efficacy of a system based on the EF feature methods and the proposed last anatomy.