The Xindashida SD7 desktop robot in the footwear and apparel industry for sole gluing applications.
2025-07-25
The Xindashida SD7 desktop robot in the footwear and apparel industry for sole gluing applications.
Project Background
China is widely recognized as a major footwear manufacturing country. However, in recent years, domestic shoe companies have been grappling with challenging issues such as declining profits and a reluctance among young people to work in traditional workshops. As a result, factories have increasingly turned to actively investing in digital, automated, and intelligent footwear production lines to cope with market fluctuations and changes in the labor force.
Image source: Publicly available media image
Customer needs
Among the various non-standard processes in shoemaking, shoe specifications and dimensions vary widely. To prevent glue leakage and ensure structural strength, extremely stringent requirements are imposed on the shape, location, and dimensional specifications of the adhesive applied to the shoe sole. As a result, manual and semi-automatic production methods remain prevalent today, making the urgent need for automation upgrades and transformations all the more apparent.
The shapes and sizes vary widely, and complex curves are difficult to automate; the application of adhesive must be highly consistent and precise, with no excess or insufficient adhesive; adhesive-application efficiency needs to be improved; and frequent model changes require flexible production capabilities.
Xinshida Solution
Proposal Description
Based on its profound understanding of footwear manufacturing processes, New Shida has launched an intelligent sole-gluing workstation that integrates robotic technology, 3D vision, and STEPstudio offline programming and simulation software. This solution leverages New Shida’s years of dedicated R&D in the STEPstudio offline programming software, enabling rapid import of shoe models requiring gluing. By using pre-set parameters, it automatically generates the trajectory points (relative positions) needed for gluing. A 3D vision system then scans to determine the actual position (absolute position) of the shoes and makes fine adjustments to these local points before transmitting the data to the robotic system. The robot’s end-effector, equipped with a glue-spraying nozzle, precisely executes the designated gluing trajectories. This solution has achieved industry-leading gluing accuracy, consistent product quality, and flexible production-line upgrades, while also enabling rapid tracking along the assembly line. The entire solution has already served as a benchmark project for numerous clients.
Scheme advantages
High glue-application accuracy and good consistency:
The Xindashida SD7/900 desktop robot fully leverages its advantages in control systems during adhesive application. The robot incorporates DH deviation compensation, flexible statics, and dynamic compensation, enabling it to achieve absolute positioning accuracy within 0.5 mm even when the adhesive application posture undergoes significant changes. Its maximum tracking speed can reach 1000 mm/s, placing it at the forefront of domestic technology.
Defects such as incomplete glue application and glue overflow:
Xinshida Robotics features self-tuning servo parameters and high-precision inertia feedforward, which enhance motion response and minimize vibration during startup, shutdown, and operation, ensuring consistent glue dispensing and coating quality while preventing issues such as glue overflow and insufficient glue application.
High flexibility, capable of adapting to footwear production scenarios involving frequent, small-batch, and multi-variety product changes:
By deeply integrating with the production line’s central control system, this workstation can accommodate a variety of shoe styles. It allows for seamless switching whenever product plans change and supports mixed-line production.
High gluing efficiency:
One robot can replace two human workers, and automated production can help address the challenge of labor shortages.
Scheme Composition
The new Shida shoe sole gluing intelligent workstation consists of several components, including the SD7-900 robot, the SD7-700 robot, robotic end-effector glue-applying nozzles, 3D vision system, and STEPstudio offline programming and simulation software.
Associated products
SD7/900 Desktop Robot
SD7/700 Desktop Robot
Project Results
The head of a footwear manufacturer stated: “After introducing the Xindashida sole-gluing solution, we’ve not only been able to achieve rapid changeovers among multiple product varieties but also meet the requirement for 24-hour continuous operations on-site. As a result, the company was able to replace more than 40 workers across the entire production line, and the investment has already paid for itself within one year—thanks to equipment that offers greater cost-effectiveness and faster returns on investment.”
In terms of specific production benefits, production efficiency has increased by 30%, the trajectory accuracy of sole gluing is highly precise, and the operating speed is remarkably stable. As a result, the quality of gluing has been significantly improved, truly achieving flexibility and intelligentization.
