A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament that includes providing a polymer melt and separating the polymer melt from the extruder into at least eight streams. The multiple streams are exposed to a chamber pressure within a chamber that is below approximately 25 millibars, or another predetermined pressure. The streams are recombined into a single polymer stream. Polymer from the polymer stream is then formed into bulked continuous carpet filament.

A transdermal drug delivery patch includes a flexible base layer, and a plurality of microneedles disposed at one surface of the base layer and including a biodegradable polymer and a drug. Each of a plurality of microneedles is formed as a star-shaped pyramid including a plurality of protrusions extending in a radial direction, and a concave shape is formed between two protrusions adjacent along a circumferential direction among a plurality of protrusions.

A transdermal drug delivery patch according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a flexible base layer; and a plurality of microneedle disposed at one surface of the base layer. Each of the plurality of microneedles includes a biodegradable polymer and a drug and has an empty space inside. Each of the plurality of microneedles is formed as a star-shaped pyramid including a plurality of protrusions extending in a radial direction, and a part between two protrusions adjacent along the circumferential direction among the plurality of protrusions is concave.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament that includes providing a polymer melt and separating the polymer melt from the extruder into at least eight streams. The multiple streams are exposed to a chamber pressure within a chamber that is below approximately 25 millibars, or another predetermined pressure. The streams are recombined into a single polymer stream. Polymer from the polymer stream is then formed into bulked continuous carpet filament.

A method and an apparatus of forming a three-dimensional object, wherein the method includes providing a carrier and an optically transparent member having a build surface, said carrier and said build surface defining a build region therebetween; filling said build region with a polymerizable liquid, continuously or intermittently irradiating said build region with light through said optically transparent member to form a solid polymer from said polymerizable liquid, continuously or intermittently advancing (e.g., sequentially or concurrently with said irradiating step) said carrier away from said build surface to form said three-dimensional object from said solid polymer, said optically transparent member comprising a build plate for a three-dimensional printer comprising: an optically transparent first channel layer; an optically transparent, gas permeable second channel layer on the first channel layer; and a flexible, optically transparent, gas-permeable sheet having an upper and lower surface, the sheet upper surface comprising a build surface for forming a three-dimensional object, the sheet lower surface being positioned on the second channel layer.

A hybrid method of additive manufacturing is provided. The method includes providing a powder material and fusing, by a first heat source, a portion of the powder material to form a three-dimensional structure. The three-dimensional structure can define a fill region at least partially filled with the powder material. The method further includes fusing, by a second heat source, the powder material in the fill region. Fusing the powder material in the fill region can solidify the powder material in the fill region and fuse the powder material to the three-dimensional structure for forming a solid object.

An optical forming device includes a light source to emit light for causing liquid photocurable resin to undergo curing and an optical modulator to modulate the light for causing the liquid photocurable resin to undergo curing in a pattern based on a shape of a three-dimensional object, and irradiate the liquid photocurable resin with the modulated light. The optical modulator includes a liquid crystal device to modulate the light for causing the liquid photocurable resin to undergo curing in the pattern, and emit the modulated light as linearly polarized light and an optical retardation device to impart a phase difference to the linearly polarized light emitted from the liquid crystal device, and emit the light imparted with the phase difference.

A method of forming a three-dimensional object includes providing a carrier and an optically transparent member having a build surface. The carrier and the build surface define a build region therebetween. The method further includes filling said build region with a polymerizable liquid; continuously or intermittently irradiating said build region with light through said optically transparent member to form a solid polymer from said polymerizable liquid; applying a reduced pressure and/or polymer inhibitor-enriched gas to the polymerizable liquid through the optically transparent member to thereby reduce a gas content of the polymerizable liquid; and continuously or intermittently advancing (e.g., sequentially or concurrently with said irradiating step) said carrier away from said build surface to form said three-dimensional object from said solid polymer.

A system for the continuous extrusion, molding, and curing of tread for tires. An elongated strip of rubber material can be molded and cured shortly after extrusion such that the material retains much of the heat energy of extrusion and does not have to be stored. A plurality of discrete mold assemblies are conveyed adjacent to each other. As the mold assemblies are advanced sequentially, the uncured and unmolded strip of rubber material are extruded and positioned onto the mold assemblies. While the rubber strip advances, individual portions are sequentially molded and cured by passing through a mold press and then a curing press. A plug assembly is used to prevent the backflow of rubber material during the molding and curing.

A method for manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament, the method comprising: (1) reducing a chamber pressure within a chamber to below about 5 millibars; (2) after reducing the chamber pressure to below about 5 millibars, providing a polymer melt to the chamber; (3) separating the polymer melt into at least eight streams; (4) while the at least eight streams of the polymer melt are within the chamber, exposing the at least eight streams of the polymer melt to the chamber pressure of below about 5 millibars; (5) after exposing the at least eight streams of the polymer melt to the chamber pressure of below about 5 millibars, recombining the at least eight streams into a single polymer stream; and (6) forming polymer from the single polymer stream into bulked continuous carpet filament.