Abstract: A training device has a ramp means to be worn on a bottom of a sole of a shoe which has an upper section with toe and heel portions and an ankle portion above the heel portion. The sole has longitudinally spaced apart heel and toe sections and the training device and the ramp means having an underside contoured to be placed against the bottom of the sole. The ramp means has, in substantially longitudinal serial relationship, a ramp down section, a parallel section, and a ramp up section. The ramp down section ramps away from the underside in a heel to toe direction with reference to the shoe. The parallel section has a parallel surface that is substantially parallel to a plane defined by the underside and longitudinally extends from the ramp up surface in the heel to toe direction. The ramp up section ramps away from the parallel surface to the underside.

Abstract: An in situ curometer has been developed to follow the cure of thick articles during molding, by measuring continuously the dynamic mechanical properties (shear modulus and loss angle). The apparatus is designed to provide cure data on curable articles such as rubber products and components in situ, during the curing of the article, to improve manufacturing cure efficiencies. The curometer is a small-scale version of an Oscillating Disk Rheometer, designed to operate through a mold wall. An approximate theoretical treatment has been developed to relate the observed torque and loss angle to the dynamic properties of the rubber compound.