Cold Cement shoe making process Bonding process to attach the upper to the outsole that does not require the upper to be placed into an oven. The outsole unit made of rubber and EVA foam is completely cured. PU cement, Water massed of solvent based […]

Die Cutting Must shoe parts are made by die cutting. The cutting die looks just like a big cookie cutter, but this cookie cutter has a sharpened steel edge. Each shoe part will require it’s own cutting die.  

Shoe Cement or Contact Cement Shoe cement is usually solvent or water based PU contact cement. Each part is coated with the cement and allowed to dry. The surfaces are then pressed together. Pressing is critical for a good bond. The PU cement cures in […]

Cutting Yield Sort of the reverse of the cutting loss but not exactly. A large shape cut from a small piece of material will be low yield. A small part cut form a big piece of material will be high yield. The larger the width […]

Buff or Buffing To remove material by a sanding or roughing process. For example, EVA midsoles are buffed before assembly to help break the smooth surface for better adhesion to the upper. The shoe factory will use a metal or stone wheel.

Cutting loss Cutting loss is the material left over once the shoe parts are cut from a material. Depending on the material type the cutting loss can be between 2% to 15%. The cutting loss also depends on the size and shape of the parts […]

Eyelet A hole through which you lace up a shoe. See the  parts diargam

Action Leather Suede cow leather that is covered with a thin coating of Polyurethane plastic film. The film coating can be any color and can be embossed with a roller. The final product is generally a solid color leather looking product. This material is still […]

EVA Ethylene vinyl acetate is the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. The weight percent vinyl acetate usually varies from 10 to 40%, with the remainder being ethylene. The most common foam used for shoe cushioning. EVA can be hot pressed or cold pressed, can […]

Shoe parts Cutting Dies Used to cut out shoe parts. These steel cutting dies look just like cookie cutters. Each die is coated with rust proof paint and marked with the shoe size and model number. Making a shoe requires hundreds of dies. One die […]