Abstract: A system and method for forming fluted polymer boards and recycling scrap material. A feeder feeds polymer to an extruder, which extrudes fluted board stock from the polymer. A scrap portion of the board stock is separated from another portion that comes to form the boards. The recycling system returns the separated scrap portion along a return path to the feeder and forms holes in the scrap portion creating fluid communication between the flutes and atmosphere before the scrap portion is returned to the feeder. The scrap portion can, in some embodiments, be ground into granular form after being hole-punched without creating a pressure condition in the flutes that adversely affects extrusion of the board stock.

Abstract: A method of molding composite materials including shaping a laminate having fiber sheets laminated over one another, by bending the laminate in an X-direction and a Y-direction, in a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system. The method further includes mounting the laminate that has been shaped, onto a mold material deformed in a Z-direction, impregnating a resin material into the laminate while adjusting an amount of the resin material filled in, and molding the composite materials that have cured such that the composite materials are shaped to have a first inclined surface inclined at a first inclination angle with respect to a reference plane in the Z-direction. The mold material has a first inclination molding surface that molds the first inclined surface, and a second inclination molding surface that molds a surface of the composite materials into a second inclined surface having a second inclination angle smaller than the first inclination angle.

Abstract: The invention relates generally to injection mold components, and more specifically an injection mold material flow channel configured with at least one fin projecting inwardly from an inner surface of the melt channel. An injection molding insert may be made for insertion within a flow path of an injection mold components and include a substantially tubular body defining a channel; and at least one fin projecting inwardly from an inner surface of the channel.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a composite laminate comprises forming a stack including first and second fiber beds and an interlayer between the fiber beds. The fiber beds are impregnated with matrix resin. The interlayer includes a soluble thermoplastic component on an insoluble component. The method further comprises dissolving the soluble thermoplastic component into the matrix resin to reduce thickness of the interlayer.

Abstract: In the production of thermoplastic granulate material, after mixing the starting materials, it is common in the state of the art for these materials to be kneaded and compressed in extruders, with subsequent granulation. According to the invention, no extruder is used, rather the starting materials for the thermoplastic granulate material are supplied directly to a double belt press after the mixing. Subsequently, the generated web-type to sheet-type body is processed into a granulate material by means of grinding, or is used as a web-type, sheet-type, strip-type or film-type intermediate product for the production of a further intermediate product or end products.

Abstract: A lacrosse head pocket and a related method of manufacture are provided to facilitate consistent, repeatable and/or custom manufacture of lacrosse equipment. The pocket can be constructed from multiple different sections joined with one another, or can be knitted, weaved or otherwise assembled on an automated assembly machine from strands, and/or can be formed as a unitary textile material having regions/sections with different physical and/or mechanical properties. The pocket can be integrally molded within portions of a lacrosse head to eliminate manually constructed connections between the pocket and lacrosse head. The lacrosse head can be integrally molded with a lacrosse handle to provide a one-piece unitary lacrosse stick. The lacrosse pocket body can include one or more fused pocket areas. Related methods of manufacturing also are provided.

Abstract: An additive manufacturing system operates an extruder to extrude a swath of thermoplastic material through at least two nozzles of the extruder to form a swath of thermoplastic material along a path of relative movement between the extruder and a platform. The speed of the extruder along the path corresponds to a predetermined speed selected with reference to an orientation of the extruder and the angle for the path of relative movement between the extruder and the platform. A controller in the system operates at least one actuator operatively connected to at least one of the extruder and the platform to move the at least one of the extruder and the platform relative to the other of the extruder and the platform along the path of relative movement at the predetermined speed to make the swath of the thermoplastic material contiguous in a cross-process direction.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for forming a mesh having a barbed suture attached thereto, comprising the following steps: a) producing a knitted structure on a knitting machine comprising at least one needle-bed with three guide bars, on a length corresponding to N stitches ranging from 1 to N, wherein i) a first knit portion is produced along stitches ranging from 1 to x, where 1<x<N, ii) a second knit portion is produced for stitches ranging from (x+1) to N, in which the knitting pattern produces at least one weft stitched chain stitch, b) cutting the second knit portion on both sides of the weft stitched chain stitch and along an edge separating the second knit portion from the first knit portion, while maintaining the weft stitched chain stitch attached to the first knit portion. The invention also relates to the mesh obtained by this method.

Abstract: A holder to facilitate optical data acquisition includes a float portion that extends from a handle portion to at least partially support the handle portion with respect to a surface of the liquid modeling impression material. A method of optical data acquisition includes communicating a liquid modeling impression material into a non-line of sight feature of a workpiece and immersing a portion of a holder into the liquid modeling impression material.

Abstract: A method is disclosed of controlling a plant for dehumidifying and/or drying plastic material in granular and/or micro-granular and/or powder and/or flake or similar form, this plant including a process fluid generator and at least one dehumidifying/drying hopper for feeding a respective user machine associated with the plant and including a melting device for melting the plastic material and a moulding device for moulding, in particular by injection moulding and/or blow moulding and/or compression moulding, the plastic material. The method of controlling includes the steps of detecting in the user machine a pressure (Ppwp) of the plastic material in melted state and modifying at least one process parameter (Dp) of the plant on the basis of the detected value of this pressure (Ppwp).

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for fabricating gap fillers for composite parts. One exemplary system includes a controller that acquires a geometry for a gap filler that will occupy a volume at a joint between laminates of curable constituent material, subdivides the geometry of the gap filler into layers, and for each layer: identifies variations in width of the layer along a length of the gap filler, and generates instructions for trimming a web of curable constituent material to match the variations in width of the layer. The system also includes rollers that dispense webs of the curable constituent material, trimmers that trim the webs of the curable constituent material based on the instructions, and compaction rollers that compact the trimmed webs together to fabricate the gap filler.

Abstract: Included are removing an outermost layer or outermost layers on one side or both sides of liquid crystal polymer film; and a molding step of performing thermocompression molding on liquid crystal polymer film and metal foil stacked on the side of liquid crystal polymer film whose outermost layer is removed. A heating temperature in the molding step is in a range from a temperature equal to a melting start temperature, of the liquid crystal polymer film, measured by using a rigid body pendulum type viscoelasticity measuring device to a temperature 60° C. higher than the melting start temperature inclusive.

Abstract: A method for molding a component. The method includes: providing a mold tool having a sprue and a cavity; heating the mold tool to a predetermined mold temperature; placing the heated mold tool into a pressure vessel; pouring a material through the sprue into the cavity of the heated mold tool; prior to complete polymerization of the material in the cavity of the heated mold tool, elevating an internal pressure of the pressure vessel to a predetermined pressure to apply a force to the material in the heated mold tool; completely polymerizing the material in the cavity in heated mold tool to form the molded component; and removing the molded component from the mold tool.

Abstract: A thermoplastic composition for overmolding of an elastomer on a substrate made of mineral glass includes: (1) from 50 to 70% by weight of at least one thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) chosen from copolymers comprising styrene blocks (TPE-Ss), (b) from 20 to 35% by weight of a polyolefin chosen from propylene homopolymers (PPs), ethylene homopolymers (PEs) and copolymers of propylene and ethylene, and (c) at least 7% by weight of a functional alkoxysilane. The percentages are expressed with respect to the sum of the components (a), (b) and (c).

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a method for manufacturing a blade component for a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The method includes arranging a fiber material in a mold of the blade component. The method also includes placing at least one pre-cured laminate material atop the fiber material. Another step includes infusing the fiber material and the pre-cured laminate material together via a resin material so as to form the blade component. The method also includes allowing the blade component to cure, the pre-cured laminate material forming at least a portion of an outer surface of the blade component.

Abstract: A method for sintering includes loading a tool material into a resistance heating element within a HPHT press and heating the resistance heating element at a first axial portion to a control temperature, where a temperature difference is measured between the control temperature and a second temperature measured at a distal axial portion along the resistance heating element, wherein a difference between the control temperature and the second temperature ranges between about 5 percent to about 11 percent of the control temperature.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a cellular geopolymer product, which method comprises the steps: (a) forming an activated geopolymer premix by addition to a geopolymer premix of an activator compound that initiates a condensation reaction in the geopolymer premix; (b) casting the activated geopolymer premix in a desired configuration; and (c) generating gas bubbles in the activated geopolymer premix as the condensation reaction proceeds and the activated geopolymer premix stiffens to produce a self-supporting cellular structure; and (d) curing the self-supporting cellular structure to produce the cellular geopolymer product, wherein in step (c) the characteristics of the activated geopolymer premix and the reaction kinetics of the condensation reaction are controlled to achieve formation of the self-supporting cellular structure.

Abstract: An impression device has a base having a recess and a conduit for fluidly coupling the recess to a vacuum source configured to temporarily apply a vacuum pressure to the recess. The device has a first plurality of particles positioned in the recess, the first plurality of particles sealed from an external environment and consisting essentially of a plurality of circular glass beads. The device has a flexible membrane coupled to the base adjacent to the first plurality of particles and holding the first plurality of particles in the base. The first plurality of particles has a first coefficient of friction between each other selected to allow the particles to move relative to each other in the absence of the vacuum pressure and to prevent the particles from moving relative to each other in the presence of the vacuum pressure.

Abstract: A casting mold (1) for the manufacture of ophthalmic lenses, in particular hard and soft contact lenses comprises a male mold half (2) having a generally convexly shaped male mold surface (20) and a female mold half having a generally concavely shaped female mold surface (30). Each of the male and female mold surfaces comprises a lens-forming surface (21, 31) which is encircled by a non lens-forming annular edge surface (22, 32). The lens-forming surface (21, 31) comprises a central optical zone (210, 310) and a non-optical peripheral zone (211, 311) surrounding the central optical zone. At least one of the male and female mold halves (2, 3) is provided with at least one permanent marking (10; 11; 12; 110, 111) which is arranged on a surface in the peripheral zone (211, 311) of the lens-forming surface (21, 31) and/or on the non lens-forming annular edge surface (22, 32).

Abstract: The present invention provides an imprint system including a processing unit configured to perform an imprint process, the processing unit including a dispenser configured to supply a droplet of an imprint material onto a substrate, a library configured to manage a plurality of different maps each indicating at least one of a supply position and a supply amount for a droplet to be supplied on the substrate from the dispenser, and a control unit configured to select one map to be used in the imprint process from the plurality of maps managed in the library based on information about a change of a result of the imprint process caused by a temporal change of at least one of a mold and the dispenser.