A stiffening element comprises a tension and compression member, a shear member, an attachment member, and a plurality of beads. The tension and compression member is positioned spaced apart from the skin and configured to bear tension or compression forces that stiffen the skin and prevent the skin from buckling or bending. The shear member is connected to the tension and compression member and configured to bear shear forces between the skin and the tension and compression member. The attachment member is connected to the shear member and is configured to connect to the skin. The beads each create out-of-plane feature that is positioned in at least one of the shear member and the attachment member. The beads permit the stiffening element be reshaped to adjust a longitudinal curvature of the stiffening element.

Provided are a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced resin molding material by which, when the fiber-reinforced resin molding material is manufactured, separated fiber bundles can be supplied to a cutting machine in stable condition while avoiding the influence of meandering of the fiber bundles or slanting or meandering of filaments occurring in the fiber bundles. A method for manufacturing a sheet-shaped fiber-reinforced resin molding material in which spaces between filaments of cut-out fiber bundles (CF) are impregnated with resin includes, so that a condition of the following expression (1) is satisfied, intermittently separating fibers of the continuous fiber bundles (CF) in a longitudinal direction by a rotational blade (18) serving as a fiber separating part and cutting out the fiber bundles with an interval therebetween in a longitudinal direction of a cutting machine (13A) to obtain the cut-out fiber bundles (CF). Expression (1): 1≤a/L (where a represents a length of a separated part of the continuous fiber bundles (CF) and L represents an interval when the fiber bundles (CF) are cut out in the longitudinal direction.)

A method for forming fiber composite preforms, the preform (1) include a web (2), a flange (3) and a bent part (2.1), and the method includes: laying-up a laminate (4) onto a tooling (5), the laminate (4) comprising lateral and transverse edges (4.1, 4.2) and the tooling (5) comprising a male part (7) comprising a surface (7.1) and a lateral wall (7.2), the web (2) being configured to be located over the surface (7.1) of the male part (7) and the flange (3) being configured to be located over the lateral wall (7.2) of the male part (7); forming the preform (1) over the male part (7); clamping the lateral edges (4.2) of the laminate (4) to the tooling (5) such that the web (2) and the flange (3) of the laid-up laminate (4) are kept under tensional loads, and bending a longitudinal portion of the male part (7).

A stiffening element comprises a tension and compression member, a shear member, an attachment member, and a plurality of beads. The tension and compression member is positioned spaced apart from the skin and configured to bear tension or compression forces that stiffen the skin and prevent the skin from buckling or bending. The shear member is connected to the tension and compression member and configured to bear shear forces between the skin and the tension and compression member. The attachment member is connected to the shear member and is configured to connect to the skin. The beads each create out-of-plane feature that is positioned in at least one of the shear member and the attachment member. The beads permit the stiffening element be reshaped to adjust a longitudinal curvature of the stiffening element.

A method is provided for producing an article which is transparent to IR wavelength in the region of 4 μm to 9 μm. The method includes the steps of (a) Producing ultra-fine powders of ZnS, (b) followed by pretreatment of the ultra-fine powders under reduced gas conditions including H2, H2S, N2, Ar and mixtures there of (c) followed by vacuum (3×10.sup.−6 torr) treatment to remove oxygen and sulfates adsorbed to the surface disposing a plurality of nano-particles on a substrate, wherein said nanoparticles comprise ZnS with ultra-high purity of cubic phase; (b) subjecting the nano-particles to spark plasma sintering thereby producing a sintered ZnS product with IR transmission reaching 75% in the wavelength range of 4 μm to 9 μm.

A thermoplastic bonded preform and method of manufacturing the preform are disclosed. The preform comprises a primary fiber comprising little or no sizing; a mechanical fiber; and a thermoplastic.

The invention concerns a machine for manufacturing plastic items comprising, in series, along the manufacturing line: a rotatable roll (1) of plastic material in the form of at least one strip; a shaper (4) for forming tubes from said strips and means (5) for longitudinally welding said tubes; means (6) for cutting the tubes transversely, arranged so as to form tube sections (10); means for transferring and depositing said sections in holding and moving means; an oven (8) in which said tube sections move; a first turret (9) supporting moulds; means for processing the tube sections in the first turret; means for blowing a pressurised fluid into the moulds; a second turret (14) for discharging the bottles from said moulds.

A preform figuring method includes mounting and stacking sheet-shape fibrous preparations that have been or are yet to be impregnated with a thermosetting resin on a figuring die that has first and second figuring surfaces at least either one of which is a curved surface and making a preform for a composite material which has a curved surface that corresponds to the curved surface of the figuring die as a stack of the fibrous preparations which has layers by bending the fibrous preparations mounted on the first figuring surface onto the second figuring surface. At least a fraction of the layers that constitute the stack are formed by mounting sheet-shape fibrous preparations on the first figuring surface or the fibrous preparation adjacent in a stacking direction so that the fibrous preparations partly overlap and bending portions of the fibrous preparations mounted so as to overlap onto the second figuring surface.

A preform figuring method includes mounting and stacking sheet-shape fibrous preparations that have been or are yet to be impregnated with a thermosetting resin on a figuring die that has first and second figuring surfaces at least either one of which is a curved surface and making a preform for a composite material which has a curved surface that corresponds to the curved surface of the figuring die as a stack of the fibrous preparations which has layers by bending the fibrous preparations mounted on the first figuring surface onto the second figuring surface. At least a fraction of the layers that constitute the stack are formed by mounting sheet-shape fibrous preparations on the first figuring surface or the fibrous preparation adjacent in a stacking direction so that the fibrous preparations partly overlap and bending portions of the fibrous preparations mounted so as to overlap onto the second figuring surface.

A method for manufacturing a composite product, including: 1) preparing a composite powder including 10-50 v. % of a polymer adhesive and 50-90 v. % of a chopped fiber; 2) shaping the composite powder by using a selective laser sintering technology to yield a preform including pores; 3) preparing a liquid thermosetting resin precursor, immersing the preform into the liquid thermosetting resin precursor, allowing a liquid thermosetting resin of the liquid thermosetting resin precursor to infiltrate into the pores of the preform, and exposing the upper end of the preform out of the liquid surface of the liquid thermosetting resin precursor to discharge gas out of the pores of the preform; 4) collecting the preform from the liquid thermosetting resin precursor and curing the preform; and 5) polishing the preform obtained in 4) to yield a composite product.