Abstract: To form a seam of attractive appearance, a heated platen having a shaped lip acts to engage and press the central surface of an adhesively-backed sheet of a polymeric fabric against the top appearance surface of a panel and the peripheral edge of the sheet into a groove formed in the surface, the platen activating the adhesive and the lip forcing a potion of the adhesive inwardly adjacent to the sheet edge against one wall of the groove. An insertion blade presses a portion of the sheet edge towards the bottom of the groove, the blade acting as a heat shield to space and protect the other wall of the groove from the heated platen.

Abstract: Injection molds suitable for use in injection molding, structural foam molding, low-pressure injection molding, and gas-assisted injection molding of plastic articles are described. The injection molds contain a thin metal layer contoured on its outer surface to the shape of the article to be molded, a rigid thermoset plastic material cast upon the inner surface of the metal layer and supporting the metal layer, and heat transfer elements cast within the plastic material and located adjacent to the metal layer to transfer heat for the metal layer and the plastic material. Preferably the thin metal layer is nickel, the plastic material is epoxy, and the heat transfer elements are metal chips and heat transfer tubing. The injection molds of the present invention can be prepared at considerable cost and time savings relative to conventional injection molds.