The present disclosure provides: a biodegradable nonwoven fabric for thermoforming, the biodegradable nonwoven fabric being composed of a fiber of a polylactic acid-based polymer, and having a basis weight of 20-300 g/m.sup.2, preferably, a biodegradable nonwoven fabric characterized by being composed of a long fiber of a polylactic acid polymer, having an MD-direction elongation of 50% or more at 120° C., and having an MD-direction dimensional change rate of ±4% or less at 80-140° C. as determined by thermomechanical analysis; a method for producing a molded body by using said biodegradable nonwoven fabric; and a method for molding a biodegradable beverage extraction container, the method being characterized in that the molded body has an MD-direction elongation change rate of 4% or less, as determined by thermomechanical analysis (TMA) under a load of 0.05 N/2 mm at 30-100° C.

Articles of wear having one or more textiles that include a low processing temperature polymeric composition and a high processing temperature polymeric composition, and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The low processing temperature polymeric composition and the high processing temperature polymeric composition can be selectively incorporated into a textile to provide one or more structural properties and/or other advantageous properties to the article. The textile can be thermoformed to impart such structural and/or other advantageous properties to the article of wear. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

A face shield, patient interface and methods of use thereof are described for improved respiratory therapy of patients. In particular, a face shield is disclosed that acts as a seal when used with a patient interface. The face shield may be manufactured from a low melt temperature hard thermoplastic material. The face shield may be formed initially formed to match the general contours of the face, but not customised to a specific user's face. The face shield may be crosslinked to provide shape memory to the seal and to improve its handling properties and is configured to be thermoformed to a user's face. The face shield may be customised to the patient's facial features to a second customised shape.

A guard for providing a cut-resistant pathway through a body orifice or incision to circumferentially protect tissue at the margin is provided. The guard is made of flexible, cut-resistant mesh material having a plurality of interwoven thermosetting filaments. The guard has a central lumen and at least one flared end. The flared end, which serves to anchor the guard in the body opening, is deformable into a reduced configuration to facilitate its insertion and removal. The layer of mesh stretches laterally to increase the diameter of the central lumen. The flexibility and expandability of the guard allows the guard to conform to body openings of different sizes. The guard may include a drawstring to cinch the flared distal end from the proximal end. The guard is thermoset with the flared distal end that is biased to spring back to its normal, undeformed configuration when released from a deformed configuration.

A material forming apparatus comprises: a support which is positioned at a side of a forming tool with respect to a material arranged on the forming tool to have a first part covered by the forming tool and a second part separated from the forming tool, and which supports the forming tool; a diaphragm which presses the second part of the material while the outer surface of the expanded diaphragm comes in close contact therewith, in a state in which the first part of the material is compressed by the forming tool and the outer surface of the diaphragm; and a volume-varying member which is disposed near the forming tool between the diaphragm and the support so that at least a portion thereof is positioned on the second part of the material.

A thermoformable nonwoven composite containing a nonwoven layer which contains a plurality of first staple fibers, a plurality of first binder fibers having a first melting point, and a plurality of second binder fibers having a second melting point, wherein the first staple fibers, first binder fibers, and second binder fibers intertwine and cross at crossover points. The difference first melting point and the second melting point differ by at least about 15° C., and at least 95% by weight of all of the fibers in the nonwoven layer are polyester. The thermoformable nonwoven composite also contains a first resin formulation containing a first resin. The first resin is located within the nonwoven and located in at least a portion of the crossover points. The first staple fibers, the first and second binder fibers, and the first resin all contain a polymer from the same chemical class.

A setting method of a protective component includes a resin supply step of supplying a thermoplastic resin to a flat support surface of a support table, and a protective component forming step of shaping the thermoplastic resin into a sheet shape through pressing and spreading the thermoplastic resin along the support surface while heating and softening the thermoplastic resin to form a protective component of the thermoplastic resin in the sheet shape on the support surface. The setting method includes also a protective component bonding step of bringing a front surface that is one surface of the workpiece into tight contact with one surface of the protective component in the sheet shape and heating the protective component in tight contact to bond the protective component to the workpiece, and a post-bonding cooling step of cooling the protective component heated in the protective component bonding step.

A transparent conductive substrate structure used for a thermoforming process includes a transparent cover plate and a touch sensing layer structure. The transparent cover plate includes a toughening layer on one side thereof. The touch sensing layer structure arranged on one surface of the toughening layer, and includes a first transparent conductive layer, a dielectric layer, a barrier layer, a second transparent conductive layer, and a buffer protective layer. Each transparent conductive layer is directly applied to the transparent cover plate, so that the thickness between the transparent conductive layers is below 1 μm. The thickness between layers may be reduced to increase the sensitivity of the touch sensing layer structure. To prevent each transparent conductive layer and an electrode wire layer from breaking during the thermoforming process, the transparent conductive substrate structure is combined with the buffer protective layer to strengthen the structure of each transparent conductive layer.

A method for manufacturing a cellulose product, comprising the steps: dry forming a cellulose blank in a dry forming unit; arranging the cellulose blank in a forming mould; heating the cellulose blank to a forming temperature in the range of 100° C. to 200° C.; and pressing the cellulose blank in the forming mould with a forming pressure of at least 1 MPa.

Systems and processes for thermoforming an article and for preparing an article for thermoforming are disclosed. The system for thermoforming can include one or more heating stations and a cooling station. The system for thermoforming can further include an article movement mechanism that can couple to an article and rotate the article inside a heating chamber, inside a cooling chamber, or both. The system for preparing an article for thermoforming can include a vessel that comprises a port, and a negative pressure generation system coupled to the port. The system for preparing an article for thermoforming can further include a compression material that forms an interior portion for receiving an article. The negative pressure generation system can cause the compression material to expand to allow for insertion of the article into the interior portion of the compression material.