Over 16 billion pairs of shoes are produced each year on this planet, and more than 1.6 mobile phones are produced per year. If we can make one USD dollar contribution for each pair of shoes through new technology, that mean at least $16 billion USD potential market per year is waiting for us.
Here comes the chance!
Shoes are composed by three key parts: insole materials (EVA), outsole materials (rubber), and upper materials (leather or fabrics). These materials are assembled by brushing many kinds of adhesives, which are so called as primer, cement, glue, on the surface of those materials, then compressed them bonding together to become a whole shoe. Above mentioned primer, cement, agents, a lot of solvent based chemicals are involved, which are toxic for the human body, seriously pollute the environment, and have high risk of a dangerous explosion.
We have create a new technology called aePlasma (atmospheric environmental plasma) that let environment air as natural bonding media, decreasing solvent chemical usage, and that’s absolutely ECO friendly.
We have designed a special plasma generator running under environment pressure (atmospheric pressure), let air flow into the plasma generator, become air plasma. The air plasma consists of fully charged particles and radicals, which can create bonding force between two hetero-surface of materials.
This technology can help the footwear industry decrease assemble steps, labor force. A significant reduction in cost, but performance is much higher! (Your shoes never peel off.)
But most important to this invention is that let we have the capability to make daily use shoes without the harmful way, using clean technology, grantee our sustainable environment.
The air plasma generator can be easily integrated with automation. Furthermore, without traditional chemical method limitation, inspiring more possibilities on new footwear designs and business models in the near future.
Voting
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ABOUT THE ENTRANT
- Name:Chiachiang Chang
- Type of entry:individual
- Profession:
- Chiachiang is inspired by:An image of labors suffered toxic work environment of fully chemical solvent and smells in south east Asia countries, driving me to invent ECO tools and technology to help and improve environment. Without sustainable environment thinking, human next generation will be impossible.
- Software used for this entry:comsol
- Patent status:pending