Inflatable Bliss: Setting Trends in Beach Soccer Manufacturing and Design
Football, or soccer ball as it is known in many parts of the world, attracts millions of people play and watch. Football game is the number one sport in the world. Are you curious how these iconic balls are made? In this article, we will share our knowledge at the production process behind football, especially beach football, and uncover the secrets of its creation.
Inflatable Bliss: Setting Trends in Beach Soccer Manufacturing and Design
Football, or soccer ball as it is known in many parts of the world, attracts millions of people play and watch. Football game is the number one sport in the world. Are you curious how these iconic balls are made? In this article, we will share our knowledge at the production process behind football, especially beach football, and uncover the secrets of its creation.
Design / Materials / Sizes
Before a soccer ball is made, we need to create a design and finish a product artwork, a skillful designer is capable to create attractive patterns / icons for the ball. Eye-catching colors or sharply contracting design can make the ball popular in the market. Production line needs to select good-quality materials to make the soccer, the materials must be durable. For beach used soccer ball, the materials are recommended to be waterproof, lightweight and flexible, as we need to consider how the materials will be if we play on the beach / seaside. Neoprene is one of the most common materials for beach soccer.
Soccer ball have different sizes, from size 1 – 5 (dia. About 13-21cm), are respectively for kids / teenagers / adults, designers should consider this factor when making artworks, for example, a mini (size 1-2) soccer ball can be designed with carton elements, the ball is likely to be a toy, while a size 5 soccer ball tend to be seen as a sport product, the design can be more fashionable or sport style.
Fabrics dyeing / Lamination
After the design & artwork are finalized, mass production can start, correct materials should be prepared.
Step 1: Fabrics dyeing. Workers dye fabrics according to Pantones or other referencing colors, to make they are in correct colors.
Step 2: When the fabrics dyeing process is completed, they can be laminated with neoprene/rubber/foam etc.. Take neoprene as an example, as an elastic material, neoprene makes a football suitable to be played on water, the finished soccer ball can be light-weight/soft/ graspable, even though it gets wet. In general, white neoprene is laminated with light-color fabrics, black neoprene with deep-color ones, to make the ball look better.
Cutting
Cutting soccer ball panels and make up the outer cover of the ball. These panels are usually hexagonal or pentagonal with specific sizes, they are cut from a bigger neoprene sheet. The cutting process requires precision and accuracy, to ensure that all panels fit together seamlessly.
Printing
After the panels are cut in pieces, it is time to give the ball its unique design. For silk-screen printed patterns, printers need to prepare inks in different colors, the desired design is printed onto the outer cover of the ball. This can include team logos, sponsor names, or any other artwork. Heat-transfer (digital) print is another option, compared with silk-screen print, inks are unnecessary, it is a good choice to print photos-like patterns by this printing method.
Stitching/ Bladder Insertion / Inflation
When the printed panels are done, workers can start to sew the balls. Cutting machines are used to assemble each panel one by one, skillful workmen ensure that the stitching is tight and neat.
With the outer cover complete, it is time to insert the bladder into the ball. The bladder is carefully inserted through a small opening in the panels. This requires skill and precision to ensure that the bladder is properly positioned inside the ball.
Once the bladder is inserted, the small opening should be hand sewn and closed, afterwards, a soccer ball is nearly finished. The next step is inflating the soccer ball and test, making sure that the quality is good, without air leakage. Workers ought to use a pump to ensure the ball reaching the correct level of inflation. The air pressure is carefully monitored to ensure that the ball meets the required specifications. This step is crucial as it determines the performance and playability of the ball.
Inspection / Packing
Before packing soccer balls, all finished balls should be placed & monitored together, defective balls, including stitching, printing, and inflation problems, must be sorted out and reworked.
After the inspection is passed, the soccer ball can be packed according to customer’s requirement. Some regular packing methods include display box, mesh bag or simple polybag, it depends on the markets/ type of customers. The packaging design is also essential, to promote retail sales, packaging design should be matched the soccer ball appearance, which is helpful to attractive potential customers.
Lastly, soccer balls are packed into master carton and get ready to be shipped.