SATRA introduces 'ageing' system to detect flaws in footwear
Footwear manufacturers will be able to pick up on product design flaws in a fraction of the usual time, according to footwear testing firm SATRA, thanks to its new footwear ageing protocol.
If a shoe is going to fail and a manufacturer likely to see returns, this typically happens in the first or second month of wear. SATRA’s new system combines several ageing techniques to form a method of ageing footwear in a matter of days rather than months, enabling design or manufacturing deficiencies to be anticipated.
Using Endofoot equipment and the SATRA Pedatron, the protocol mimics the wear likely to be encountered during real life, as it introduces controlled doses of moisture into the footwear as well as subjecting it to flexing, torsional twisting and sole abrasion.
Mark Southam, footwear consultant at SATRA, explains: “The first one to two months in the life of a shoe are critical in highlighting any fundamental design flaws or faults in the materials, construction or shoemaking.
“The great thing about the SATRA protocol is that it allows us to speed up this process and get early answers for footwear manufacturers before the point of sale. It is realistic, can be replicated precisely and is free from the discrepancies that are common in human wear trials. This allows us to reliably compare one product against another.”
The protocol can be used to make a general assessment of the likely performance of footwear components such as the footbed, linings or sole, or it can also be used as a pre-treatment to see what effects the simulated wear process might make on other properties.
