Systems and methods for manufacturing an article of footwear

A method for manufacturing a sole structure, the method comprising:

• forming a preformed component;
• foaming the preformed component to form a midsole, the preformed component shaped based on a non-uniform scale factor applied based on a desired final shape of the midsole, including:
• positioning the preformed component within an autoclave,
• heating the preformed component to be at or above a glass transition temperature of the preformed component,
• pressurizing the autoclave,
• saturating the preformed component with a supercritical fluid, and
• dropping the pressure within the autoclave to cause nucleation of the supercritical fluid within the preformed component, and to expand and crystallize a material of the preformed component to form the final shape of the midsole, wherein a density of the midsole has a variance of less than or equal to approximately 15%;
• removing the midsole from the autoclave;
• and
• securing an outsole to a bottom surface of the midsole.

A method for manufacturing a foam component of a sole structure, the method comprising:

• positioning a preformed component within a cavity of an autoclave, the preformed component shaped based on a non-uniform scale factor applied based on a desired final shape of the foam component;
• heating the preformed component to be at a first temperature that is at or above a glass transition temperature of a material of the preformed component;
• pressurizing the autoclave, wherein the pressure is selected in accordance with the first temperature so that a blowing agent within the autoclave becomes a supercritical fluid;
• and
• dropping the pressure within the cavity to cause nucleation of the supercritical fluid within the preformed component, and to expand and crystallize the material of the preformed component to form the final shape of the foam component, the foam component expanding to be at a final size within the autoclave, wherein an expansion ratio between the preformed component and the foam component is between about 1.4 and about 1.8.

A method for manufacturing a foam component, the method comprising:

• positioning a preformed component within a cavity of an autoclave, the preformed component shaped based on a non-uniform scale factor applied based on a desired final shape of the foam component;
• heating the preformed component;
• pressurizing the autoclave;
• injecting a blowing agent into the cavity of the autoclave, the blowing agent becoming a supercritical fluid that saturates the preformed component;
• and
• dropping the pressure within the cavity of the autoclave to cause nucleation of the supercritical fluid within the preformed component, and to expand and crystallize the material of the preformed component to form the final shape of the foam component, wherein that a density of the foam component has a variance of less than or equal to approximately 15%.