Provided is a flexible tube production apparatus capable of shortening the length of a resin layer in which the mixing ratio between two kinds of resins changes. The flexible tube production apparatus includes: two extruders extruding resins different from each other; two valves provided corresponding to the two extruders, respectively; a kneading mechanism kneading the resins supplied from the two extruders via the two valves; a die extruding the resins kneaded by the kneading mechanism; and a control device controlling the two valves to switch from a first state where one extruder and the kneading mechanism communicate with each other and communication between the other extruder and the kneading mechanism is cut off, to a second state where the other extruder and the kneading mechanism communicate with each other and communication between the one extruder and the kneading mechanism is cut off, when the flexible tube is extruded.

A polytetrafluoroethylene tube is provided and has a thickness of 0.1 mm or less, a tensile elongation at break of 350% or more, and a melting energy of 0.6 J/g or more which is calculated from an endothermic peak at 370° C.±5° C. in a procedure of increasing a temperature in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

The present invention relates to a tube comprising polytetrafluoroethylene, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tube having an appropriate tensile strength and flexibility and being excellent internal insertion property. The object can he achieved by a tube comprising polytetralluoroethylene according to the present invention, in which, in a case where a surface shape of an inner surface of the tube is measured, when a direction of the measurement is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the tube and the measurement is performed in a forward direction and a reverse direction, a variation rate between a size of a periodic step measured in the forward direction and a size of the periodic step measured in the reverse direction is 5% or more.

A tubular material application system for applying a tubular material onto an elongate mandrel includes a gripper system including a first gripper and a second gripper configured to move with inchworm-type movement along an elongated mandrel and incrementally apply a tubular material onto the mandrel to thereby result in a tubular material-mandrel assembly.

Fluid transfer assemblies for transferring fluid into or out of a single vessel and distributing the fluid to multiple other vessels are provided. The fluid transfer assemblies are customizable, substantially aseptic, and single-use. The fluid transfer assemblies may be manufactured by solidifying polymeric materials to form a body around a mandrel with protrusions engaged to fluid conduits and leaving recesses in the solidified polymeric material to stretch the resultant body and remove the mandrel with protrusions. The resultant fluid transfer assembly may be surrounded by a rigid housing and valves may be engaged with the conduits and/or body to control the fluid flow within the fluid transfer assembly.

Extendible slit tube members and methods for manufacturing extendible slit tube members are provided. In one aspect, an extendible member (10) comprises a laminated shell (2) of plural fibre reinforced layers (P1-P5) constructed and arranged to be configurable between a coiled form and an extended form. In the extended form (12) the shell is resiliently biased in the form of an elongate tube having longitudinal edges (14) defining a slit (3) along its length and wherein the shell can be opened out at the slit to assume a flattened form in which it can be wound about an axis extending transversely to its longitudinal direction to assume its coiled form (11). In the region of one or both longitudinal edges (50), the amount of reinforcing fibre is less than in the region between the edge regions (51). In another aspect, a flexible cord (40) may be attached along the edge of a shell.

An inflation molding device includes a viscosity estimation unit that estimates a viscosity of a bubble discharged in a substantially cylindrical shape from a die, a temperature identification unit that identifies a temperature of the bubble, and a parameter estimation unit that estimates a viscosity parameter of the bubble based on the viscosity of the bubble estimated by the viscosity estimation unit and the temperature of the bubble identified by the temperature identification unit.

A film molding device includes: a cooling unit that cools a molding material discharged from a mold; and a rectifying unit that rectifies cooling air blown out from the cooling unit. The rectifying unit includes a suction portion that suctions the cooling air.

Described is a method and apparatus for manufacturing complex-shaped tubular or hollow 3D objects without using a mandrel. Instead of a mandrel, the shape of the composite object is determined locally by a roller that is placed according to the local geometry of the part at the point of layup. The use of rapidly curing resins allows “freezing’ of the composite strip immediately after layup.

Disclosed is a novel 3D-printer system for printing elastically deformable rubber parts such as rubber seals where the uncured rubber source material is partially cured before printing each rubber layer of the rubber part. Furthermore, disclosed is a novel 3D printing method for 3D-printing an elastically deformable rubber body using the 3D-printer system.