Cushioning member for article of footwear and related methods

A method of forming a cushioning member for an article of footwear, the method comprising:

• providing precursor material having a first thickness, the precursor material being an open-cell foam material;
• providing an upper mold and a lower mold;
• moving the upper mold and the lower mold towards each other to apply a uniaxial compressive force to the precursor material to compress the precursor material to a second thickness where a ratio of the first thickness to the second thickness is at least 1.5:1, the compressive force causing cell structures along the entire second thickness of the precursor material to move to a collapsed state;
• heating the precursor material to a first temperature above a softening temperature of the precursor material while maintaining the cells structures in the collapsed state;
• and
• cooling the precursor material to a second temperature below the softening temperature of the precursor material while maintaining the cell structures in the collapsed state.