A forming station for a thermoform packaging machine, wherein the forming station comprises a forming tool upper part and a forming tool lower part that are each configured for cooperating so as to thermoform a film positioned between the forming tool lower part and the forming tool upper part. The forming station includes a first change bar that is adapted to be releasably attached to a reception area of the forming tool lower part and the first change bar carries a plurality of punches or blades.

The invention disclosed herein is an automotive acoustic panel including a porous sound-absorption material made from a polymer and an expanded perlite. One or more silane compounds may be coupled or coated onto the expanded perlite while a coupling agent and a chemical foaming agent may additionally be added to the automotive acoustic panel.

Apparatus and methods of forming selected portions of integral sheets of material are disclosed. Unformed portions of the sheets may remain undistorted during the forming process, allowing them to contain text, art work, or other desired information without material risk of the information being degraded or becoming unintelligible during the forming process. This result may be accomplished, moreover, with less trim than usually occurs in conventional forming processes.

Apparatus and methods of forming selected portions of integral sheets of material are disclosed. Unformed portions of the sheets may remain undistorted during the forming process, allowing them to contain text, art work, or other desired information without material risk of the information being degraded or becoming unintelligible during the forming process. This result may be accomplished, moreover, with less trim than usually occurs in conventional forming processes.

The present disclosure relates to 3-dimensional (3D) articles with a printed fabric skin that provides an aesthetic appearance to the 3D articles. The printed fabric skin may be a photograph that is printed on a fabric material, which is then applied to a base material to form the 3D article. Registration markers are used to align features of the printed fabric material with corresponding textured features of the 3D body of the article. This provides a light-weight article (such as a decoy) with a 3D shape and texture and image quality printed fabric skin.

The present disclosure relates to 3-dimensional (3D) articles with a printed fabric skin that provides an aesthetic appearance to the 3D articles. The printed fabric skin may be a photograph that is printed on a fabric material, which is then applied to a base material to form the 3D article. Registration markers are used to align features of the printed fabric material with corresponding textured features of the 3D body of the article. This provides a light-weight article (such as a decoy) with a 3D shape and texture and image quality printed fabric skin.

An apparatus for thermoforming plastic containers comprising a thermoforming device (3) in turn comprising a shaped mould (4) and a closing element (5) movable relative to one another at least between a home position and a forming position, and an extracting device (9) for extracting the thermoformed container (2) from the shaped mould (4), the extracting device comprising at least one gripper element (68) shiftable between a pickup position and a releasing position; in which when the shaped mould (4) and the closing element (5) are in an extracting position, the gripper element (68) in the pickup position can grip a projecting edge (66) of a projecting flange (71) of the container (2) for retaining it, whilst when the gripper element (68) is in the releasing position it can release a thermoformed container (2), retained by it, onto a conveying device (69); and in which the gripper element (68) and the shaped mould (4) are also movable relative to each other, starting from the position in which the gripper element (68) has gripped the edge (66) of the container (2), along an extracting line, for causing the container (2) to come out of the shaped mould (4).

An apparatus for thermoforming plastic containers comprising a thermoforming device (3) in turn comprising a shaped mould (4) and a closing element (5) movable relative to one another at least between a home position and a forming position, and an extracting device (9) for extracting the thermoformed container (2) from the shaped mould (4), the extracting device comprising at least one gripper element (68) shiftable between a pickup position and a releasing position; in which when the shaped mould (4) and the closing element (5) are in an extracting position, the gripper element (68) in the pickup position can grip a projecting edge (66) of a projecting flange (71) of the container (2) for retaining it, whilst when the gripper element (68) is in the releasing position it can release a thermoformed container (2), retained by it, onto a conveying device (69); and in which the gripper element (68) and the shaped mould (4) are also movable relative to each other, starting from the position in which the gripper element (68) has gripped the edge (66) of the container (2), along an extracting line, for causing the container (2) to come out of the shaped mould (4).

Systems and methods for laser trimming dental aligners include a model positioning system, an orientation determination system, and a laser trimming system. The model positioning system receives a physical dental model with a material thermoformed thereto. The dental model includes an orientation feature. The model positioning system moves the dental model to a position where the orientation feature is viewable by a camera. The camera captures an image of the orientation feature. The orientation determination system identifies an offset of the dental model by determining an actual orientation of the dental model based on the image of the orientation feature. The laser trimming system cuts the material from the dental model along a trim line while the fixture plate is moved about at least two axes relative to the laser trimming system.

A package for retaining a food item includes a tray with a base connected to at least one sidewall. The sidewall extends away from the base to a rim to define an inner chamber. The tray is made of a fluid impermeable material to retain fluids in the inner chamber. The package also includes a shelf made of the fluid impermeable material that is removably supported in the inner chamber such that the shelf is spaced apart from the base of the tray to permit an absorbent pad to be positioned therebetween. The shelf is configured to support the food item in the inner chamber separated from the absorbent pad.