Abstract: A method for manufacturing thermoplastic resin expandable granules comprising the steps of: injecting a blowing agent under pressure into a thermoplastic resin which is melted in an extruder; extruding the melted resin containing the blowing agent as an extrudate from a plurality of small holes in a die attached to a distal end of the extruder directly into a coolant liquid, and directly cutting the extrudate by high-speed rotary blades; and cooling and solidifying the extrudate by contacting with the coolant liquid, and thereby obtaining the expandable granules wherein the melted resin containing the blowing agent passing through land parts of the small holes of the die is extruded such that a shearing speed is 12,000 to 35,000 sec?1, and an apparent melt viscosity of the resin is 100 to 700 poise.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing thermoplastic resin expandable granules comprising the steps of: injecting a blowing agent under pressure into a thermoplastic resin which is melted in an extruder; extruding the melted resin containing the blowing agent as an extrudate from a plurality of small holes in a die attached to a distal end of the extruder directly into a coolant liquid, and directly cutting the extrudate by high-speed rotary blades; and cooling and solidifying the extrudate by contacting with the coolant liquid, and thereby obtaining the expandable granules wherein the melted resin containing the blowing agent passing through land parts of the small holes of the die is extruded such that a shearing speed is 12,000 to 35,000 sec?1, and an apparent melt viscosity of the resin is 100 to 700 poise.

Abstract: A polypropylene resin foamed sheet for thermoforming having compounded therein an inorganic fine powder is disclosed. The sheet contains 10 to 50% by weight of the inorganic fine powder, has a density of 0.2 to 1.2 g/cm and a thickness of 0.2 to 3 mm and having a percent shrinkage of 5 to 30% in each of the longitudinal and crosswise directions on heating at 190.degree. C. for 30 minutes, with the ratio of a residual rate in the longitudinal direction to that in the crosswise direction being from 1:0.7 to 1:1.1. The sheet is produced by extruding and foaming a compounded resin from a ring die of an extruder, and taking off the extruded tubular foamed sheet along a cylindrical drum whose diameter is 2.0 to 3.0 times that of said ring die.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for preparing a substantially uniform thermoplastic foam extruded from an extruder, the molten thermoplastic resin having uniformly distributed therein a foaming agent. A cooling-mixer continuously receives the extruded mass of resin and foaming agent from the extruder and intimately mixes and substantially cools the mass. A substantially adiabatic zigzag mixer is connected to the cooling-mixer and divides the mass into a plurality of separate streams which are at least partially separated and recombined. A die is connected to the zigzag mixer and extrudes the uniformly cooled mass into a lower pressure zone to produce a substantially uniform thermoplastic foam.