Release Agents and other ancillaries for Shoe Sole Manufacturing
McLube® offers a consummate line of release agents and ancillary products for shoe sole manufacturing processes, including single and dual-density casting and direct attach operations. McLube’s water and solvent-based formulas for shoe sole manufacturing can be catered to any process to ensure the release characteristics of the coating meet every customer goal and product specification. We have helped shoe sole manufacturers around the world reduce scrap and costs, lessen environmental impact, and improve overall process efficiency.
Products for Shoe Soling
Release Agents for Shoe Sole Manufacturing
We offer water and solvent-based options with tailored slip coefficients to achieve your process goals. Rely on our experienced Technical Representatives and Formulation Chemists to guide you through selecting, testing, and implementing the ideal release agent for your shoe soling process.
Mold Cleaners
Our mold cleaners for shoe sole manufacturers are formulated to reduce the amount of time and physical abrasion required to remove waxes, release agents, and thermoset residues from shoe soling molds. We offer water and solvent-based mold cleaners that can be safer, more effective alternatives to common cleaning solvents. Go to our industrial cleaners page to learn more, or contact McLube today.
Supported Shoe Soling Processes
Rubber Outsoles
Our rubber release agents are currently used to produce durable, wear-resistant rubber outsoles for military-style footwear, safety shoes, and more. Available release coatings for rubber outsoles include solvent-based and water-based release agents with semi-permanent characteristics to increase the number of soles produced per application and reduce in-mold buildup and stoppages for cleaning.
Single Density
Single or “monodensity” soles are generally produced with open pour casting (“open molding”) processes aided by an apply-every-cycle release agent. The frequency of release agent application in these processes can quickly lead to in-mold buildup and fouling, especially when applying wax-based coatings. Our polyurethane release agents for single-density sole casting are designed for compatibility with post-molding steps and minimal buildup.
Dual Density
Dual-density or “bi-density” shoe soles include an outsole and midsole that are bonded together inside the mold. A “dummy last” serves as a temporary top cover for casting the outsole and is removed before the midsole material is poured and cured over the outsole. Our release agents for dual-density soles are designed to provide effective release without interfering with midsole-outsole bonding or post-molding steps like painting and upper shoe attachment. These coatings are suitable for application to the mold surface as well as dummy lasts and versatile enough to release differing outsole and midsole compounds.
Direct Attach Process
Direct attach processes account for most resin and elastomeric injection molding in the footwear industry. Reducing scrap and rejection rates is of particular concern in direct attach operations because if the sole does not release properly, the upper shoe is also wasted. Our release agents for shoe sole processes contain proprietary additives that allow our coatings to bond to the mold surface for unparalleled durability. McLube® will tailor the slip coefficients of the release agent to create the optimal surface energy inside your mold to aid material flow without causing knit lines.
Supported Shoe Soling Materials
Shoe sole manufacturers are continually developing new compounds to increase durability, decrease weight, and improve shock absorbance. We support the following materials and may also custom formulate a release agent tailored to your unique sole materials:
- Rubber soles, Thermoplastic rubber (TRP)
- Polyurethane (polyester and polyether PU systems)
- Ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA),
- PVC, BPU, and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
