A dental appliance for positioning a patient's teeth includes a removable orthodontic tooth positioning appliance having teeth receiving cavities shaped to directly receive at least some of the patient's teeth and apply a resilient positioning force to the patient's teeth. The appliance includes a hard polymer layer having a hard polymer layer elastic modulus disposed between a first soft polymer layer having a first soft polymer layer elastic modulus and a second soft polymer layer having a second soft polymer layer elastic modulus. The hard polymer layer elastic modulus is greater than each of the first soft polymer layer elastic modulus and the second soft polymer layer elastic modulus. At least one of the first soft polymer layer and the second soft polymer layer has a flexural modulus of greater than about 35,000 psi.

A laminate structure and method of forming is provided. The laminate structure includes a first metal sheet having a first thickness, a second metal sheet having a second thickness, and an adhesive core having an adhesive thickness. The adhesive core is disposed between and bonded to the first and second metal sheets. The first and second metal sheets are made of an aluminum based material and the adhesive core is made of an adhesive material also described as a viscoelastic adhesive material. The laminate structure is configured such that a ratio of the sum of the first and second thickness to the adhesive thickness is greater than either to one (8:1). The laminate structure including the viscoelastic adhesive core is characterized by a composite loss factor at 1,000 Hertz which is continuously greater than 0.1 within a temperature range of 25 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.

A method for fabricating wetsuit garment including wetsuits, boots and gloves for water sports uses, comprising preparation of at least a substantially elastic joining member made of hot melt adhesive, and joining at least two interconnected panels of rubber foam or sponge by the substantially elastic joining member to cover and seal the seam between the two interconnected panels for firmly bonding the two interconnected panels for making a strong, elastic and flexible wetsuit garment.

An article for damping vibrations by constrained layer damping comprising: a first constraining layer; a second constraining layer; and a damping layer disposed between the first and second constraining layers, wherein the first and second constraining layers each independently comprise a fibre-reinforced composite material, wherein the first and second constraining layers each independently have a thickness from 1.5 to 5 mm, wherein the damping layer comprises a viscoelastic material, wherein the damping layer has a thickness from 1 to 10 mm and wherein the article has a thickness from 6 to 50 mm. The invention also relates to the use of said article for damping vibrations in a vehicle.

Provided is a laminate for a non-aqueous secondary battery that, in transfer of a functional layer onto a substrate for a non-aqueous secondary battery, enables easy peeling of the functional layer from a releasable substrate while also enabling good adhesion of the functional layer to the substrate for a non-aqueous secondary battery. The laminate for a non-aqueous secondary battery includes a releasable substrate and a functional layer containing a binder. The functional layer is formed in a dotted form on a surface A at one side of the releasable substrate.

Waterproof engineered floor and wall planks have a veneer layer bonded with a plastic composite core, and an underlayer, preferably an underlayer of cork.

An illustrative embodiment of a manufactured surface component may be comprised of a textile material on a first face and an elastomer material on a second face, wherein said elastomer material is bonded to said textile material, wherein said manufactured surface component is substantially planarly configured, wherein an area of said first face and said second face is from about 0.04 square inches to about 4.0 square inches, wherein a thickness of said manufactured surface component is from about 0.3 mm to about 2.5 mm, and wherein said manufactured surface component is substantially free of any petrochemical-derived plastics, petrochemicals, and toxins.

Proposed are an eco-friendly automotive interior part, a method of manufacturing the same, and a method of designing the same automotive interior part. The automotive interior part can not only optimally correct physical properties thereof using manufacturing and design methods, but also have eco-friendliness by significantly reducing harmfulness to the human body due to the minimized use of chemicals, while realizing natural wrinkles resembling those of natural leather.

A system (10) for butt-joining two or more rubber strips (B1, B2) selected in accordance with a predetermined rubber mixture recipe in order to feed at least one extruder with a complex strip of rubber material (B.sub.12) made from the butt joined rubber strips is disclosed. The system includes at least one conveyor that transports the rubber strips from an inlet (12) of the system to an outlet (14) of the butt-joining system; a frame (18) that operationally supports the conveyor to allow the continuous transport of the rubber strips and also to allow the simultaneous butt-joining of the rubber strips fed to the system; and a roller system (20) that butt-joins the rubber strips without penetration. The invention also relates to a process for butt-joining rubber strips that is performed by the system.

A core insertion type spiral tube includes: a spiral metal tube having an empty space therein and an elastic core member positioned inside said spiral metal tube.