A tool for a thermoforming process to form a moulded product from wet pulp fibre material includes two or more moulds each having a moulding surface, an actuator assembly, and a fluid extraction system. At least one of the moulds is displaceable by the actuator assembly between first and second positions and has fluid extraction paths extending through the mould to transport fluid away from the moulding surface. One of the moulds has a first layer that is substantially rigid to form a support member and is in communication with a heating subsystem of the fluid extraction system, and a second layer that is, in use of the tool, between the first layer and the wet pulp fibre material. The second layer is formed of a material that has interconnected internal voids forming part of the fluid extraction paths and has a lower heat transfer coefficient than the first layer.

The invention relates to a method for producing a biodegradable thermoplastic starch-based article intended to come into contact with foodstuffs. In this method, the semi-crystalline starch granules are transformed into a homogeneous and almost amorphous material, called thermoplastic starch, by the addition of plasticizers at high temperatures and under shear. Thermoplastic starch is modified with organic acid during melt processing to prevent the retrogradation of starch. Moreover, cellulose derivatives are used as the reinforcement filler of thermoplastic starch. The article is produced using hot-pressing and then coating by immersion in a waterproofing solution.

Provided is a sheet molding compound having excellent thick portion-molding properties that can inhibit the occurrence of internal cracks even during the molding of a thick portion and enables a carbon fiber composite material molded article to be excellently released from a die. Also provided is a carbon fiber composite material molded article. The sheet molding compound of the present invention contains a fiber substrate (A) containing carbon fiber and a thermosetting resin composition (B), in which an average fiber length of the carbon fiber is 5 mm or more, and a volumetric molding shrinkage rate of the thermosetting resin composition (B) is 0.5% or more and 4.4% or less. Furthermore, the carbon fiber composite material molded article of the present invention has a thick portion having a thickness of 10 mm or more, in which the thick portion is formed of a cured material of the sheet molding compound of the present invention.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a method of manufacturing a molded body from a waste material including at least one of food waste and seaweed, the method comprising: preparing dry powder made from at least the waste material; and forming a molded body by pressurizing the dry powder in a state in which the dry powder is heated to a predetermined temperature.

[Problems] An object of the present invention is to provide a crystalline radical polymerizable composition which is excellent in flowability and is easy to handle. [Solution Means] The crystalline radical polymerizable composition for sealing electrical and electronic component according to the present invention is characterized by comprising at least a crystalline radical polymerizable compound, an inorganic filler, a silane coupling agent, and a radical polymerization initiator. In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the crystalline radical polymerizable composition for sealing electrical and electronic component according to the present invention, the crystalline radical polymerizable compound is characterized by comprising one or more selected from unsaturated polyester, epoxy (meth) acrylate, urethane (meth) acrylate, polyester (meth) acrylate, -polyether (meth) acrylate, radical polymerizable monomer and radical polymerizable polymer.

A process including: the provision of a semicrystalline or crystallizable composition, having a glass transition temperature T.sub.g, including at least one polyaryletherketone; the provision of a compression forming means including: a mold, the mold having at least one cavity; the preparation of the composition in the molten state in said at least one cavity, the mold having a temperature T.sub.0 at the end of the preparation stage; the compression and the cooling of the composition in the molten state, the mold being cooled from the temperature T.sub.0 down to a final temperature T.sub.fof less than or equal to (T.sub.g+30)° C., to form a compression-formed article; and the removal of the compression-formed article from the mold; in which the composition has a melting point strictly of less than 340° C.

A method for forming a thermoplastic body having regions with varied material composition and/or porosity. Powder blends comprising a thermoplastic polymer, a sacrificial porogen and an inorganic reinforcement or filler are molded to form complementary parts with closely toleranced mating surfaces. The parts are formed discretely, assembled and compression molded to provide a unitary article that is free from discernible boundaries between the assembled parts. Each part in the assembly has differences in composition and/or porosity, and the assembly has accurate physical features throughout the sections of the formed article, without distortion and nonuniformities caused by variable compaction and densification rates in methods that involve compression molding powder blends in a single step.

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for the manufacture of a shoe sole or part of a shoe sole from foam particles. Disclosed is an apparatus for the manufacture of a shoe sole or part of a shoe sole from foam particles, wherein the apparatus comprises: a.) a molding tool which is formed from at least two molding halves and which defines a molding cavity, and b.) at least two capacitor plates which are arranged adjacent to the molding cavity, wherein c.) at least one of the capacitor plates is connected to a radiation source, and wherein d.) at least one of the capacitor plates comprises several segments that have an adaptable distance to the molding cavity. Also disclosed is method for using such an apparatus in the manufacture of a shoe sole or part of a shoe sole from foam particles.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to systems and methods for manufacturing a master batch with a graphitic material dispersed in a polymer matrix. In some embodiments, a method for manufacturing the master batch can include combining the graphitic material with a polymer, adding a supercritical fluid to the mixture, and depressurizing the supercritical fluid to remove the supercritical fluid. In some embodiments, the method includes mixing the graphitic material and the polymer for a first time period to form a first mixture and transferring the supercritical fluid to the first mixture to form a second mixture. In some embodiments, the method includes mixing the second mixture for a second time period and depressurizing the second mixture to allow the supercritical fluid to transition to a gas phase.

The subject of the invention is a support panel with cellular core structure and the manufacturing process for the support panel with cellular core structure which solve the technical problems of: facilitating the manufacture of the product, ensuring compactness of individual panels and manufacturing support panels with cellular structure (1) in a single step. The support plate with cellular structure (1) comprises at least the upper solid surface (2), the lower solid surface (3) and the cellular structure (4), whereby all of these components are made of any thermoplastic material; however, all of the components are made of the same material. The cellular structure (4) is constructed with energy directors (5) to prevent spacing between the cellular structure (4), the upper solid surface (2) and the lower solid surface (3). The pre-formed cellular core (4) is placed on the levelled thermoplastic material used to form the lower solid surface, after which the material is applied over the cellular core (4) up to the depth required to form the lateral surfaces and the upper solid surface (2). After heating and pressing the material, the support panel with cellular structure (1) is cooled under pressure, and then it is removed from the press mould.