There are various materials for sports shoe soles,with different anti-abrasion.
Each has its unique characteristics and advantages and disadvantages.
Here are several common sports shoe sole materials and their characteristics:
1.Rubber shoe sole:
Characteristics:
Rubber is a polymer compound with good elasticity, anti-abrasion, resistance to bending, compression resistance, and can also play a certain role in shock absorption. Rubber soles can be adjusted according to usage scenarios, such as adding wear-resistant formulas to make wear-resistant rubber soles, or adding transparent material formulas to make transparent rubber soles.
Advantages: Good anti-abrasion, anti slip, high softness, good ductility, waterproof, and stable shrinkage.
Disadvantages: Relatively heavy, not breathable, and afraid of oil erosion when the hardness is low.
2. EVA shoe sole(ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer):
Characteristics:
EVA is a lightweight material with excellent cushioning performance. EVA shoe soles are lightweight, easy to process, not prone to wrinkling, have good resilience and tensile strength, high toughness, and also have good coloring properties.
Vorteile:
Lightweight, soft, good resilience, and excellent cushioning performance.
Disadvantages:
Poor anti-abrasion, average slip resistance, and elasticity may weaken after prolonged wearing.
3.TPU shoe sole(thermoplastic polyurethane):
Characteristics:
TPU is an elastic material that can soften at a certain temperature and remain unchanged at room temperature. It has excellent characteristics of high tension, high tensile strength, toughness, and aging resistance, and is also an environmentally friendly material.
Vorteile:
Good anti-abrasion, strong tear resistance, lightweight, easy to process into various colors (including transparent).
Disadvantages:
Not resistant to strong polar solvents and strong acid-base media, not resistant to high temperatures, relatively high price.
4.PU shoe sole(Polyurethane):
Characteristics:
PU substrate has good anti-abrasion, insulation, bending resistance, and anti slip performance. However, polyester based PU substrates are prone to hydrolysis in high temperature and high humidity environments.
Advantages: Good anti-abrasion, slip resistant, and good softness.
Disadvantages:
Polyester PU bottom is sensitive to water and prone to hydrolysis; Meanwhile, PU shoe soles may also have the disadvantage of easily absorbing water.
5.MD shoe sole(EVA Secondary Foam):
Characteristics:
MD shoe sole is a polymer material made of EVA after secondary foaming, which has the characteristics of lightweight, good elasticity, good cushioning and stability.
Vorteile:
Poor anti-abrasion,lightweight, shock-absorbing, and stable.
Disadvantages:
prone to wrinkling and shrinkage deformation.
6.TPR shoe sole(thermoplastic rubber):
Characteristics:
TPR shoe sole is an upgraded version of EVA treated with special technology, which is lightweight, comfortable, highly elastic, easy to stain, breathable, and has high strength. Especially, it has excellent low temperature resistance, high friction coefficient, and strong grip.
Vorteile:
High elasticity, low temperature resistance, strong grip.
Disadvantages:
The material is relatively heavy, the anti-abrasion is average, the softness is poor, and the shock absorption capacity is limited.
To improve the wear resistance of the sole, various additives can be added.
These additives play a key role in improving the wear resistance of EVA shoe soles. One of them is silicone anti-abrasion agent.
Mechanism of action:
Anti-abrasion agents increase the hardness and scratch resistance of the material surface, reduce wear, and thus extend the service life of the shoe sole.
Dosage:
The amount of anti-abrasion agent added needs to be determined according to the specific product formula and performance requirements. It is usually added within a certain range (5%~10%) to achieve the best wear-resistant effect.