Tru-Mold Shoes brings automated manufacturing techniques to the world of custom shoe making

�The shoemaker has found a new elf. However, unlike the mythical gnome of the popular children’s fantasy, today’s secret shoemaking assistant is a high-tech super computer capable of creating hundreds of customized casts per day, making modifications to lasts within 1 millimeter accuracy, and remembering each step so it can make a duplicate cast for a new pair of shoes, over and over again.

The computer aided design (CAD) system put on line in 2004 at Tru-Mold Shoes Inc., Buffalo, New York (USA) is the first of its kind for a custom shoe maker.

“Lots of shoe companies use CAD systems for their manufacturing operations,” said Husain Syed, president of Tru-Mold Shoes. “But those systems are engineered for repetitive tasks, for making the same model and size of shoe over and over again. Our system must reflect the simple fact that the custom-molded shoe industry is not your typical shoemaking operation.”

“Because every one of our patients has a unique situation, we’re constantly reinventing our product line,” he said. “The CAD system we employ must be able to adjust to the needs of each patient.”

photo #1 positive plaster lasts

Since being put into operation, the design system has performed remarkably well. Here’s how it works. Three-dimensional plaster casts first are created from the negative casts that come to Tru-Mold from foot care practitioners (photo #1).

These casts are then digitally scanned by a 3D camera and sent to a computer program where custom features and “compensations” like a high toe box, standard height and length, and

recesses for problems like bony prominences are added (photo #2).

The manipulated image is then sent to a CNC milling machine where a physical last is made. From this exact replica of the patient’s foot, a custom shoe is made to mirror the patient’s foot in every aspect of fit and accommodation. The digital image becomes a permanent fixture on the computer’s hard drive, so a duplicate cast can be made at any time without a new foot casting.

photo #2 with patient last on top and corrected last on the bottom.

“By committing this image to memory, we now have a permanent record of the patient’s foot. That means a new pair of shoes can be manufactured without re-casting the patient’s foot,” Syed said.

“If the last needs to be modified because of minor physical changes to the patient’s foot, we can also do that without having to re-cast the patient,” he said.

Syed said the new CAD system has greatly enhanced productivity in a business known for exceedingly minute detail and differentiation.

“Everything we do is custom, and product cost is always an issue,” he said. “But patients want their shoes to look as good as they feel on their feet. So we must keep finding creative, cost-effective ways to enhance product value.”

For information on Tru-Mold Shoes, visit our website at www.trumold.com or call 1-800-THE-MOLD.