A tire mold having moveable elements displaceable to bring the tire mold into an open or into a closed position. The mold comprises upper and lower side members; a plurality of mold segments defining a mold cavity; a vacuum device for removing gas from the mold cavity; and sealing means with closing seal members configured to cooperate with associated cooperating surfaces for sealing the mold cavity by contact with each other. The one or more closing seal members and the associated cooperating surfaces are moveable relative to each other upon displacement of the one or more moveable elements. Said one or more closing seal members are placed in a position in which they are facing their associated cooperating surfaces without contacting them both in a partial closure position of the tire mold and in the closed position of the tire mold when the vacuum device is not activated.

A compression-molding machine for making shoe soles has two ends equipped with a first moving mold wall and a second moving mold wall, respectively. A fixed mold wall is located between the two moving mold walls. The compression-molding machine uses two pressing cylinders to drive to the two second moving mold walls, respectively, so as to make the two moving mold walls move toward the fixed mold wall, thereby allowing the single machine to perform compression molding with two molds. Since the fixed mold wall is immovable, the two molds when performing compression molding are independent of each other. The first pressing cylinder and the second pressing cylinder can be operated separately, so as to eliminate the problem of the conventional compression molding machine where compression molding can only be performed when both of its two molds are positioned, thereby saving manufacturing time and improving productivity of compression molding.

In a structure such as a liquid ejecting head configured to cover an opening of a base with a covering member, the present invention alleviates the generation of a warp on the structure or the base even if the covering member is hardened and shrunk. The structure includes the base and the covering member attached onto the base. A manufacturing method for the structure includes: a first step of attaching the covering member having flexibility onto the base in such a manner as to cover an opening of the hole formed at the base and a second step of hardening the covering member attached onto the base. In the first step, the covering member is attached onto the base in a state in which a non-stuck portion of the covering member, covering the opening of the base, is slack.

Top and bottom ferrous carrier plates have a plurality of pairs of mating window cavities. Pairs of mating nonferrous pre-molded inserts with mating mold cavities snap into mating window cavities with a rubberized retainer ring therebetween to create floating mating pre-molded insert molds in multiple material carrier plate assemblies. Liquefied material is dispensed through pot bushings and plungers in each top pre-molded insert. The liquefied material flows though gate openings located in each insert top surface filling the mold cavities. The liquefied material then solidifies to its permanent shape in the mold cavities.

An assembled mandrel for forming a hollow structure having a shape similar to that of the assembled mandrel, by layering a prepreg on the surface of the longitudinally oriented assembled mandrel, covering the same with a vacuum bag, heating while creating a vacuum inside the vacuum bag, and heat-curing the prepreg while pressing the same into the assembled mandrel, the assembled mandrel being characterized by being equipped with: two outer mandrel members (first mandrel members) extending in the longitudinal direction; a center mandrel member (second mandrel member) sandwiched between the two outer mandrel members, and capable of being withdrawn in the lengthwise direction from between the two outer mandrel members after the hollow structure has been formed; and a tape (detachable member) formed from a low-friction material and adhered to one or more of the contact surfaces between the two outer mandrel members and the center mandrel member.

A mold element (350) is fabricated (305, 310, 315) using a first mold (5) with which microstructures (323) are integrally formed in relief on the mold element (350). A lens (340) is cast (320, 325, 330, 335) using a second mold (7) that includes the mold element (350) such that the microstructures (337) are integrally formed on the lens (340).

A system for validating seal integrity includes a part forming tool having a supporting surface against which a composite part is formed and a surrounding surface. A caul sheet overlays the part. A vacuum bag is coupled to a perimeter of the caul sheet and disposed against the surrounding surface. The vacuum bag is coupled to the surrounding surface via an outer seal and an outer vacuum chamber is defined between the surrounding surface and the vacuum bag. An inner seal couples the vacuum bag to a perimeter of the caul sheet such that an inner vacuum chamber is defined between the caul sheet, the vacuum bag, and the supporting surface. A flow sensor is fluidically coupled with each vacuum chamber. A valve is selectively operable to fluidically couple and decouple the chamber and the vacuum source and/or to fluidically couple and decouple the chamber and an atmospheric pressure source.

A process for molding a tire within a tire mold having movable elements displaceable to bring the tire mold into an open position or a closed position. The tire mold comprises upper and lower side members; mold segments defining a mold cavity; and one or more seal members for sealing the mold cavity. The process comprises steps of providing a tire mold having one or more closing seal members; placing the green tire into the mold cavity; placing one or more closing seal members next to a cooperating surface so as to face it without contacting it, by bringing the tire mold into a partial closure position; and drawing a vacuum on the mold cavity causing the one or more closing seal members to be moved or deformed by suction until they are in contact with the cooperating surface so that the mold cavity is sealed in an airtight manner.

A molding process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes injecting a first molding material into a mold cavity of a mold, the mold cavity formed by at least a mold cavity portion of a first platen and a second platen when the first platen is in contact with the second platen; opening the mold by separating the first and second platens; placing a second molding material at the first molding material while the first molding material remains with the first platen or the second platen; sealing a space between the first and second platens; removing a gas from the space while the space is sealed; and closing the mold while the space is sealed.

A method for manufacturing a foam-molded article by performing a GCP, the method including a step of retreating a mobile side of a mold clamping mechanism of a sealed mold at the same time as when a step of discharging a gas is started, during the step of discharging the gas, immediately after the step of discharging the gas or when a specified delay time after the step of discharging the gas is finished for performing at least one of a mold-back and a core-back to increase a foaming ratio of a foamable resin in a state that a cooling and a solidification of an inside of the foamable resin are not finished.