A FAST CUSTOMIZATION DESIGN SYSTEM FOR SHOES DESIGN
Prof. Huang Tai-Shen, Lin Shih-Yuan
Graduate Institute of Design, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taiwan
Abstract
Shoes style is changing along with social fashion, but we have many related diseases after wearing shoes. Because the shoe is unsuited to someone pediform shape, it causes indisposition and injury. The purpose of this research is to develop a fast customization (FC) system for the shoe styling design. This system combines of both feature-based design and virtual reality technologies, and respectively takes advantages from the customization and mass customization to achieve real shoes development design. The system contains a friendly user interface in which designer can set and choose design parameters, and understand the design dissimilitude during operation process. A point cloud data of the feet of the customer can be acquired by using non-contact laser scanner, and then compare the difference between the data and the database of standard shoe last applying the Morphological Difference Analysis and Weighted Method. For the different portions, we can redesign it in the fast customization system, and then create a pair of comfortable shoe that match consumer’s foot curve completely. Finally, the result of design can be display and choose on the screen by using virtual reality technology.
Keywords: Fast customization, Morphological Difference Analysis, Weighted Method, Industrial Design, Shoe Last
1. Introduction
1.1 Research background
In 1960, the manufacture industry was working with mass-produce, cheap labor and a large number stock as enterprise operation model. This production way could immediately satisfy most of the customer’s needs. When we stay in 21 centuries, which is the times of direction of the need of the customer, the lead time of the product development and production process have to change as the product life cycle is getting shorter and shorter [21]. That means a company should have the capability to deal with the contingency, and respond to the market requirement. Due to the concept of the production already changed from Make-to-Stock to Build-to-Demand, the demand of the customization of the product is increasing greatly [25]. A customization system can satisfy customer’s special request, create a great diversity, and produce different products. Because shoes manufacturing process is one kind of mass labor job, the company must continuously enhance design and marketing ability. Company transformation is an extremely important lesson to the traditional shoes making industry, at the same time, how to promote the capability of creativity and R&D is one of the key techniques for the transformation requirement [8, 12].
1.2 Research motive
Although shoes design work is changing along with social progress and the fad, an unsuitable shoe will cause many healthy problems. People would usually take no notice whether the shoes are comfortable and suitable or not when bought it, but this is one of main reasons causing the disease of the feet. Experts are all believe consistently that the incorrect fashion concept and bad shoes product are the troublemaker for the feet disease [15]. The shoes appearance, brand, and other symbol sign should not the first consideration when we want to buy a pair of shoes, whether the shoes really are suitable for your feet is more important than exterior. Unfortunately, most of the people are still have such kind attitude, and such kind of phenomenon occurs contiguously. This situation will cause tremendous injury to the feet.
1.3 The purpose of the research
The purpose of this research is to develop a fast customization (FC) system for the shoe styling design. The system combines of both feature-based design and virtual reality technologies, and takes advantages from the customization and mass customization respectively to achieve real style customization design. The size and the form of the consumer’s feet can obtain by using a laser measuring system, which will be used as a reference for choosing an adequate shoe last [3, 5, 19]. By comparing and calculating the difference between the shoe last and the scanning data through a special analytical software, we can either choose a standard shoe last to manufacture the shoes or redesign a inner part to match personal feet completely [2, 7]. Meanwhile, some components of the shoes are designed as module parts in order to extend the compatibility with other shoes design for enlarging the diversification of the function of the product [16]. By using the system, customer can fleetly receive the final shoes product, really match the feet silhouette, and greatly increase the speed of the manufacture. Finally, the correlation between consumer’s feet and the style of shoes is presented on computer by using virtual reality technology, which can let the consumer know the final design result in advance. The purposes of this research are listed as below:
1. Creating a system process structure for shoes fast customization design;
2. Using morphological difference analysis method to choose a suitable shoe last for manufacturing, and executing fleetness customization design;
3. Promoting the concept of the fast customization design of the shoe along with the changes of the present shopping activities;
4. Implementing the technology of the virtual reality let consumer can view the relationship between the final product design and feet outline for understanding whether the design result satisfy design requirements.
2. Overview of the documents
Since the techniques of making shoes are changing rapidly and the consumer morphological model emphasizes enormous ego gradually, the paper will briefly discuss the following topics: the evolution of shoes manufacturing industry, the medical science correlation between shoes style and feet outline, the development of customization in product design, the application of module design in product development, and the utilization of three dimensional measuring system on shoe last measurement. Meanwhile, we also apply the Morphological Difference Analysis and Weighted method to get an index of comparing and evaluating criterion.
2.1 The transformation of shoes making industry
Shoes making industry is an intensive labor industry. At present all shoes maker in the developed countries are well aware of that they must convert the direction of intensive labor into the development direction of intensive funds, technologies, information, and management. Therefore, every shoes maker are concentrating on the improvement in the field of new product development and manufacturing processes in order to respond to the variety of the shoes product life cycle. Consequently, company must expeditiously take reactions to market need for achieving consumer’s requirements, and provide a highest quality product in the shortest time. For promoting the creativity of new product and the ability of research and development, appropriated application of new technologies and technique will be an important direction on the shoes making industry in the future.
2.2 Medical sciences
Schlachter mentioned that the shoes use must satisfy the following three points：(1) should can protect and prop up the feet, and can safeguard the health of the feet; (2) have to consider both of attractiveness and customer’s characteristic; (3) should catch up society fashion and match the contour of the feet [15]. From the point 1 and 3, we can find that the functions of shoes have to protect the feet physical condition, and fit the form of the feet for reaching protection purpose. At present most of the shoes on the market cannot match the form of the feet of the most people properly, it will cause very serious injuries after long-tern wearing such uncomfortable shoes. Such kind of injuries cause people have to suffer from these innumerable feet diseases. The most important is that once the feet were deformed, you will find it is very difficult to fully recover at all. Therefore, what consumer need is a pair of shoes which real match pediform shape for himself, not just completely focus on the fashionable style [19]. We must take account of such important subjects.
2.3 Customization
Facing the changes of present society industrial structure, customization product and service are not only a tendency but also the future direction of entire economic market. The manufacturing framework with mass-production and the merchandise with longer product cycle already lose competition in the 21 century [22, 26]. The consumer gradually realizes the person’s uniqueness and dissimilitude and is deeply aware of the assimilation and alienation of the ego. Therefore, the trend of emphasizing enormous ego (characterization) and requesting the distinction with others (discrepancy) is gradually getting stronger every day, which already forced company to emphasize the diversification of the product [23]. In future, the consumers need not only a product, but also presenting the difference of own characters and style during the purchase behavior and process [28]. In order to attract the customer’s attention, we must stress the difference of "personalization" and raise a product’s additional value. The competition strategy should change from low production cost to flexible manufacturing system and quick design, which can produce and express personal idiosyncratic products [24]. Therefore, shoes making companies have to enhance the ability about dealing properly with all kinds of complicated contingencies to the customer’s requirement since product types are changing to multiformity, requests for the customization products are increasing, and the variation frequency of customer’s need is becoming more multifarious. The business enterprises must provide diverse customization products when they confront new challenges, and then the company would have stronger competitive advantages [14].
2.4 Module
The Starr (1965) is the first scholar who put forward the concept of the module. The meaning of the module is trying to integrate and assemble a group of standardized constituents into a new product. Using the module method to develop design system or product the design work and development process will become more flexibility and efficiency, and can reduce development cost at the same time [6]. Feitzinger& Lee(1997) took HP as an example. He explained the key of the available mass customization is the last possibility to put these products containing divergence into supplying chain. At this moment, the company cannot just adopt a unitary method, but they must deliberate and integrate product design development, manufacturing and transportation process, and entire structure of the supply chain. An efficient mass customization framework consist of three principles of construction design: (1) a product should be designed as it can be assembly by independent module; (2) the process of the manufacturing should be design including several independent modules; (3) the supply chain should be design to provide basic product to each factory, and then those factories carry out the customization process by using the cost beneficial method [17].
2.5 The measurement system of the shoe last
At present, the technologies for measuring shoe last mostly adopt the non--contact measurement system. There are two kinds of technologies which are: (1) a laser scanning machines, which include the single laser beam, multilineal laser beams. Such kind machines project the laser beam onto shoe last body, a very small transformation quantity display on the sensor due to the undulate contours of the surface. The transformation quantity will be converted to a surface ripple value by using triangle geometry calculation, and execute manipulation and alignment processes to these point clouds. Finally, we can rebuild the complicated surface of the shoe last with reverse engineering. (2) a photo measurement equipment, which is an extremely convenient tools. The workpiece can be taken a photo in any position and angle for capturing point clouds. The manipulation and alignment processes of point clouds are the same with laser scanning machine, and then the surface model of the shoe last can be constructed by using special reverse engineering software such as Surfacer and Geomagic Studio.
2.6 Morphological Difference Analysis
Morphological Difference Analysis was introduced by Switzerland Zwicky, who is an astronomer, in 1951. The method is based on the Feature Matching theory, and the extensive applications include design engineering, manufacturing engineering, industry engineering, person machine engineering and building design etc. This theory takes several important features from two sets of comparing datum, one set is served as reference data and another is measuring set, and these features must have good enough to represent its morphological portion. We put two corresponding portions together as a set, and then produce shape divergence value by comparing the two features. Finally, the total value of the objects morphological difference can be calculated by adding each comparing shape divergence value. The result can be used as to determine the difference between two objects.
2.7 Weighted Method
The Weighted Method, which decides a power value according to the degree of the importance of the item, will be adopted to evaluate technique project [9, 13]. The total grade point of the project can immediately obtained by multiplying each power value corresponding with items. The distinguishing features of the Weighted Method are to express important evaluation point throughout different power value. The Weighted Method formula is:
(1)
where S is total value of the grade point of the project, W is the ith item’s power value, s is the value of the ith evaluation item, and n is the number of evaluation items.
3. Theories deduction
This research combines the advantages from both of the customization and module methods, and operates in coordination with consumer’s needs. Module design provides flexible, fast, and simple assembly capabilities, and special customization design contains the characteristics of flexible production [27]. The fast customization design system, developed by this research project, integrates both of design theory frames, spread out the fleetness the frame of the customization, which makes product design and development process becoming more flexibility and efficiency. The result not only really meets the consumer’s needs but also approaches the purpose of the fast customization. The applications about the fast customization design system will briefly describe as bellow:
(1) Creating a individual customization product and service (Tailored Customization):
In order to achieve the objective of a fast customization system, it has to create some kind of individual customization products as different as possible with minimum cost. The system can provide a standard production prototype according to personal requirements, different size or habit, and can make portion adjustments during design process. The advantage of this method is that we do not need to manufacture a new prototype after we changed the design. What we have only to do is designer makes some modification and adjustment according to personal divergence. The process can dramatically save a lot of time and cost, and really achieve the purpose of fast customization design.