A formulation for producing a polymeric material including polypropylene, a chemical blowing agent, and optional components as described.

A part is fabricated by an additive manufacturing process while levitating in space. Constituent features of the part are formed by 3-D printing. A part levitation system allows the spatial orientation of the part to be manipulated relative to one or more print heads.

Multilayer riblet applique and methods of producing the same are described herein. One disclosed example method includes applying a first high elongation polymer material to a web tool, where the web tool is to be provided from a first roll, and heating, via a first heating process, the first high elongation polymer material. The disclosed example method also includes applying a second high elongation polymer material to the first high elongation polymer material, and heating, via a second heating process, the second high elongation polymer material. The disclosed example method also includes applying, via a laminating roller, a support layer to the second high elongation polymer material.

An additively manufactured component has a plurality of overlapping layers bonded to each other. The plurality of overlapping layers includes at least a first subset of layers, and at least one layer of the at least a first subset of layers includes adjacent tracks bonded to each other. At least one of the adjacent tracks has a tool path pattern that is encoded with information.

A manufacturing method of a polishing layer is provided. First, a mold for which the mold cavity has a contour pattern is provided, and the cross section of the contour pattern along a direction includes a plurality of recessions and at least one concavity portion, wherein the at least one concavity portion is disposed on the bottom of at least one of the recessions. A polymer material is disposed in the mold cavity. The polymer material is cured to form a semifinished product, wherein the cross section of the semifinished product along the direction includes a plurality of polishing portions corresponding to the recessions and at least one protruding portion corresponding to the at least one concavity portion. A flattening process is performed on the semifinished product to remove the at least one protruding portion.

Described are methods for manufacturing a plastic component, in particular a cushioning element for sports apparel, a plastic component manufactured with such methods, for example a sole or a part of a sole for a shoe, and a shoe with such a sole. The method for the manufacture of a plastic component includes loading a mold with a first material includes particles of an expanded material and fusing the surfaces of the particles by supplying energy. The energy is supplied in the form of at least one electromagnetic field.

A method of layerwise fabrication of a three-dimensional object is disclosed. The method comprises, for each of at least a few of the layers: dispensing at least a first modeling formulation and a second modeling formulation to form a core region using both the first and the second modeling formulations, and at least one envelope region at least partially surrounding the core region using one of the first and the second modeling formulations but not the other one of the first and the second modeling formulations. The method can also comprise exposing the layer to curing energy. The first modeling formulation is characterized, when hardened, by heat deflection temperature (HDT) of at least 90° C., and the second modeling formulation is characterized, when hardened, by Izod impact resistance (IR) value of at least 45 J/m.

Provided are a recycling system, a recycling method, and a laminate separation and recovery method, in which a wet crushing facility capable of crushing a laminate in water and separating the laminate simultaneously with the crushing. The recycling system according to the invention is a recycling system for recycling a plastic laminate having at least two or more layers into a recycled material, the recycling system including: a wet crushing facility configured to separate the laminate into single layers while crushing the laminate in water by performing pressure feeding simultaneously with crushing; and a facility configured to dispense and recover a crushed mixture of each of the separated single layers.

According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a fully impregnated thermoplastic prepreg includes a mechanism for moving a fabric or mat and a drying mechanism that removes residual moisture from at least one surface of the fabric or mat. The system also includes a resin application mechanism that applies a reactive resin to the fabric or mat and a press mechanism that presses the coated fabric or mat to ensure that the resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the coated fabric or mat is moved to polymerize the resin and thereby form a thermoplastic polymer so that upon exiting the oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with the thermoplastic polymer. During at least a portion of the process, humidity in the vicinity of the coated fabric or mat is maintained at substantially zero.

The invention relates to an element of a vehicle luminous device, including an element made from a synthetic polymer material and includes an injection space which is formed by a primary space and a secondary space. The element further includes a material injection channel with at least two portions which extend in different directions. A first portion includes an injection location and a second portion is connected to the secondary space, and at least one angled portion with a variable angle connecting the at least two portions and including a protuberance.