Systems and methods for producing a sports ball

A manufacturing method of a sports ball, comprising the steps of:

• forming a plurality of panels, comprising:
• cutting a plurality of Polyurethane (PU) layer cutouts corresponding to a respective shape for each of the plurality of panels from a sheet of PU:
• placing each of the plurality of PU layer cutouts in a corresponding mold;
• forming each respective panel in each respective corresponding mold by injecting melted TPE into each of the corresponding molds for a pre-determined amount of time,
• forming a plurality of panels, comprising:
• forming a plurality of cutouts, comprising:
• cutting a plurality of Polyurethane (PU) layer cutouts corresponding to a respective shape for each of the plurality of panels from a sheet of PU:
• placing each of the plurality of PU layer cutouts in a corresponding mold;
• forming each respective cutout in each respective corresponding mold by injecting melted TPE or TPR (Thermoplastic Rubber) into each of the corresponding molds for a pre-determined amount of time;
• forming pre-mold cutouts by creating one or more foam indentations on each respective cutout of the plurality of cutouts by removing a part of the foam of each respective cutout of the plurality of cutouts by applying a laser to the foam of each respective cutout;
• forming each respective panel of the plurality of panels by:
• placing each of the pre-mold cutouts in a corresponding secondary mold, wherein a shape of the corresponding secondary mold corresponds to a shape of a finalized panel, the corresponding secondary mold comprising of an upper mold portion and a lower mold portion, the lower mold portion comprising a cavity in a desired shape of a respective panel, the upper mold portion comprising a pressing part corresponding to shape of the cavity, wherein each of the pre-mold cutouts with an end-to-end length more than an end-to-end length of the pressing part:
• creating a bladder valve panel by inserting a valve in one of the plurality of created panels;
• forming a pre-finalized ball by attaching the plurality of the panels including the bladder valve panel to a bladder and respective edges to each of the plurality of the panels to respective edges of adjacent panels of the plurality of the panels;
• and
• placing the pre-finalized sports ball in a mold and applying heat to the pre-finalized sports ball.