Nike, Inc.

Nile, Inc.

Patrick Conall Regan

Kuo-Hung Lee

Chih-Chi Chang

Dragan Jurkovic

Ming-Feng Jean

Yen-Hsi Liu

Hung-Yu Wu

Chang-chu Liao

Manufacturing of a shoe or a portion of a shoe is enhanced by executing various shoe-manufacturing processes in an automated fashion. For example, information describing a shoe part may be determined, such as an identification, an orientation, a color, a surface topography, an alignment, a size, etc. Based on the information describing the shoe part, automated shoe-manufacturing apparatuses may be instructed to apply various shoe-manufacturing processes to the shoe part, such as a pickup and placement of the shoe part with a pickup tool.

Automated manufacturing of shoe parts with a pickup tool

The present invention provides systems, methods, and apparatus for a vacuum tool having a switchable plate, such that a common vacuum tool may be adapted with different plates. A switchable plate may form the entirety of the vacuum tool's material contacting surface or a switchable plate may form a portion of the material contacting surface. The vacuum tool is effective for picking and placing one or more manufacturing parts utilizing a vacuum force.

Manufacturing tool

Growing community of inventors

Singapore, Singapore

Patrick Conall Regan