Cutting assembly for manufacturing footwear having sipes

A cutting assembly for a foam midsole member of an article of footwear comprising:

• a jig configured to receive a foam midsole member, the jig including:
• a base member projecting upwardly on the jig, the base member having an outline conforming to an entire outline of a conventional midsole of an article of footwear, the base member having a top surface facing upwardly and configured to engage a downwardly-facing top surface of the foam sole member such that a lower surface of the foam midsole member faces upwardly, and
• a plurality of pins positioned about a periphery of the base member and projecting upwardly, a first plurality of the plurality of pins being positioned along a medial side of the base member, another one of the plurality of pins being positioned behind a rear portion of the base member that corresponds to a heel portion of the conventional midsole, and a second plurality of the plurality of pins being positioned along a lateral side of the base member for positioning the sole member between and in an abutting relationship with the pins;
• and
• a cutting die having a plurality of blades configured to form sipes in the lower surface of the foam midsole member, the cutting die being movable with respect to the jig toward the top surface of the base member for bringing the blades into contact with the lower surface of the foam midsole member disposed between the cutting die and the base member, a height of at least one of the blades being different than a height of at least one other of the blades.