A process for injection molded microcellular foaming various flexible foam compositions from biodegradable and industrially compostable bio-derived thermoplastic resins for use in, for example, footwear components, seating components, protective gear components, and watersport accessories wherein a process of manufacturing includes the steps of: producing a suitable thermoplastic biopolymer or biopolymer blend; injection molding the thermoplastic biopolymer or biopolymer blend into a suitable mold shape with inert nitrogen gas; controlling the polymer melt, pressure, temperature, and time such that a desirable flexible foam is formed; and utilizing gas counterpressure in the injection molding process to ensure the optimal foam structure with the least amount of cosmetic defects and little to no plastic skin on the outside of the foamed structure.

A foaming die device for forming a headrest is provided, which comprises a lower die having a first protrusion and an upper die having a second protrusion. The lower and upper dies are used for accommodating a trim cover assembly with a headrest stay portion extending outwardly through a stay passage hole formed in the trim cover assembly. The first and second protrusions are adapted to press and turn over a projected area created about the stay hole into the inside of that trim cover assembly. Also, a foaming process for forming the headrest, using this foaming die device, is provided, in which the projected area is turned over by the first and second protrusions into the trim cover assembly when placing the trim cover assembly in the dies. Hence, conventional preliminary steps using cylindrical stick to turn over the projected area into the trim cover assembly are eliminated.

A thermally expandable sheet includes: a first thermally expansive layer that is formed on one side of a base and contains a first thermally expandable material and a first binder, the first thermally expansive layer having a first ratio of the first thermally expandable material with respect to the first binder; and a second thermally expansive layer that is formed on the first thermally expansive layer and contains a second thermally expandable material and a second binder, the second thermally expansive layer having a second ratio of the second thermally expandable material with respect to the second binder, wherein the first ratio is lower than the second ratio.

A composite material blade molding method is for molding a composite material blade by curing a prepreg. The composite material blade has a back-side blade member and a belly-side blade member which are superposed and joined. The composite material blade molding method includes: a lamination step for forming a back-side laminate in a back-side molding die and forming a belly-side laminate in a belly-side molding die; an inner surface cowl plate disposition step for disposing an inner surface cowl plate for maintaining an inner space formed by the back-side laminate and the belly-side laminate; a die mating step for die-mating the back-side molding die and the belly-side molding die and disposing a foaming agent in the inner space maintained by the inner surface cowl plate; and a curing step for heating and expanding the foaming agent and heat-curing the back-side laminate and the belly-side laminate.

In at least one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a vehicle seat assembly comprising a cushion having an “A” surface and a “B” surface, a central portion, and two bolster areas, with each bolster area being adjacent the central portion, with the cushion having a plurality of intrusions extending from the “A” surface towards the “B” surface to form a hardness gradient between at least one of the bolster areas and the central portion of between 5% to 25%, the plurality of intrusions comprising a plurality of pairs of patterns, each pair of patterns comprising a first pattern spaced apart and opposingly and inversely facing a second pattern.

A novel material for producing auxetic foams is disclosed. The material comprises a multiphase, multicomponent polymer foam with a filler polymer having a carefully selected glass transition temperature. Novel methods for producing auxetic foams from the material are also disclosed that consistently, reliably and quickly produce auxetic polyurethane foam at about room temperature (25° C.). This technology overcomes challenging issues in the large-scale production of auxetic PU foams, such as unfavorable heat-transmission problem and harmful organic solvents.

Disclosed is a method for molding a foamed article, such as a midsole or outsole for footwear, in which first water, then a desired amount of thermoplastic polyurethane foam beads are placed in a compression mold in the shape of the article and the mold is brought to a peak temperature of from about 130° C. to about 180° C. over a period of from about 300 to about 1500 seconds, then cooled to from about 5° C. to about 80° C. over a period of from about 300 to about 1500 seconds within about 30 seconds after the peak temperature is reached. The foamed article made by the method has a density of from about 0.1 to about 0.45 g/cm.sup.3.

Foamed articles including a foamed thermoplastic elastomeric material, methods of making the foamed articles, and methods for manufacturing articles of footwear, apparel, and athletic equipment incorporating such foamed articles are provided. In one aspect, a method for making a foamed article comprises placing an article comprising a foamable material and carbon dioxide in a vessel, maintaining the vessel at an infusing pressure and infusing temperature at which the carbon dioxide is a liquid and carbon dioxide is soluble in the foamable material, optionally exposing the infused article to a first intermediary holding temperature and first intermediary holding pressure, and subjecting the article to an expanding pressure and expanding temperature at which the infused carbon dioxide phase transitions to a gas, thereby expanding the foamable material into a foamed material and forming the foamed article.

A method for making a polymer with a porous layer from a solid piece of polymer is disclosed. In various embodiments, the method includes heating a surface of a solid piece of polymer to a processing temperature and holding the processing temperature while displacing a porogen layer through the surface of the polymer to create a matrix layer of the solid polymer body comprising the polymer and the porogen layer. In at least one embodiment, the method also includes removing at least a portion of the layer of porogen from the matrix layer to create a porous layer of the solid piece of polymer.

It is provided a WPC extrusion profile comprising a WPC material, in which plant fibers are embedded in a plastic matrix, wherein the WPC material has a content of naturally growing plant fibers of between 30 and 75 wt-%, and the WPC extrusion profile includes at least one foam-filled hollow chamber. The at least one hollow chamber of the WPC extrusion profile is completely filled up with a foam, in particular a closed-pore foam. The foam includes or consists of a plastic material of the same type of plastic as the matrix of the WPC material. The foaming is effected by using a physically acting blowing agent, in particular CO.sub.2, wherein the density of the foam is less than 0.4 g/cm.sup.3 and the average cell size of the foam has a mean diameter of less than 0.4 mm.