Methods for manufacturing articles of footwear are provided. In various aspects, the methods comprise utilizing additive manufacturing methods with foam particles. In some aspects, the additive manufacturing methods comprise increasing the temperature of a plurality of foam particles with actinic radiation under conditions effective to fuse a portion of the plurality of foam particles comprising one or more thermoplastic elastomers. Increasing the temperature of the foam particles can be carried out for one or multiple iterations. The disclosed methods can be used to manufacturer articles with sub-regions that exhibit differing degrees of fusion between the foam particles, thereby resulting in sub-regions with different properties such as density, resilience, and/or flexural modulus. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

Devices and methods for making a polymer with a porous layer from a solid piece of polymer are 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.

Devices and methods for making a polymer with a porous layer from a solid piece of polymer are 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.

Methods for manufacturing articles of footwear are provided. In various aspects, the methods comprise utilizing additive manufacturing methods with foam particles. In some aspects, the additive manufacturing methods comprise increasing the temperature of a plurality of foam particles with actinic radiation under conditions effective to fuse a portion of the plurality of foam particles comprising one or more thermoplastic elastomers. Increasing the temperature of the foam particles can be carried out for one or multiple iterations. The disclosed methods can be used to manufacturer articles with sub-regions that exhibit differing degrees of fusion between the foam particles, thereby resulting in sub-regions with different properties such as density, resilience, and/or flexural modulus. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

Methods for manufacturing articles of footwear are provided. In various aspects, the methods comprise utilizing additive manufacturing methods with foam particles. In some aspects, the additive manufacturing methods comprise increasing the temperature of a plurality of foam particles with actinic radiation under conditions effective to fuse a portion of the plurality of foam particles comprising one or more thermoplastic elastomers. Increasing the temperature of the foam particles can be carried out for one or multiple iterations. The disclosed methods can be used to manufacturer articles with sub-regions that exhibit differing degrees of fusion between the foam particles, thereby resulting in sub-regions with different properties such as density, resilience, and/or flexural modulus. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

The present invention aims to provide a method for producing a porous substrate containing a bioabsorbable polymer and heparin in a simple manner without use of a surfactant, a porous substrate containing a bioabsorbable polymer and heparin, and an artificial blood vessel. The present invention provides a method for producing a porous substrate containing a bioabsorbable polymer and heparin, including: a solution preparing step of preparing a heparin-bioabsorbable polymer solution having heparin uniformly dispersed therein and a bioabsorbable polymer dissolved therein, using the bioabsorbable polymer, the heparin, a solvent 1 that is a poor solvent having a lower solvency for the bioabsorbable polymer, a solvent 2 that is a good solvent having a higher solvency for the bioabsorbable polymer and is incompatible with the solvent 1, and a common solvent 3 compatible with the solvent 1 and the solvent 2; a precipitating step of cooling the heparin-bioabsorbable polymer solution to precipitate a porous body containing the bioabsorbable polymer and the heparin; and a freeze-drying step of freeze-drying the porous body containing the bioabsorbable polymer and the heparin to provide a porous substrate containing the heparin.

The present invention aims to provide a method for producing a porous substrate containing a bioabsorbable polymer and heparin in a simple manner without use of a surfactant, a porous substrate containing a bioabsorbable polymer and heparin, and an artificial blood vessel. The present invention provides a method for producing a porous substrate containing a bioabsorbable polymer and heparin, including: a solution preparing step of preparing a heparin-bioabsorbable polymer solution having heparin uniformly dispersed therein and a bioabsorbable polymer dissolved therein, using the bioabsorbable polymer, the heparin, a solvent 1 that is a poor solvent having a lower solvency for the bioabsorbable polymer, a solvent 2 that is a good solvent having a higher solvency for the bioabsorbable polymer and is incompatible with the solvent 1, and a common solvent 3 compatible with the solvent 1 and the solvent 2; a precipitating step of cooling the heparin-bioabsorbable polymer solution to precipitate a porous body containing the bioabsorbable polymer and the heparin; and a freeze-drying step of freeze-drying the porous body containing the bioabsorbable polymer and the heparin to provide a porous substrate containing the heparin.

Methods for manufacturing articles of footwear are provided. In various aspects, the methods comprise utilizing additive manufacturing methods with foam particles. In some aspects, the disclosed methods comprise selectively depositing a binding material on foam particles in a target area such that the binding material coats at least a portion of defining surfaces of the foam particles with the binding material. The binding material is then cured to affix foam particles in the target area to one another. In various aspects, the disclosed methods can be used to manufacturer articles with sub-regions that differential levels of affixing between the foam particles, and thereby resulting in sub-regions with different properties such as density, resilience, and/or flexural modulus. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

Methods for manufacturing articles of footwear are provided. In various aspects, the methods comprise utilizing additive manufacturing methods with foam particles. In some aspects, the disclosed methods comprise selectively depositing a binding material on foam particles in a target area such that the binding material coats at least a portion of defining surfaces of the foam particles with the binding material. The binding material is then cured to affix foam particles in the target area to one another. In various aspects, the disclosed methods can be used to manufacturer articles with sub-regions that differential levels of affixing between the foam particles, and thereby resulting in sub-regions with different properties such as density, resilience, and/or flexural modulus. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

A composite material for use, for example, as an orthopedic implant, that includes a porous reinforced composite scaffold that includes a polymer, reinforcement particles distributed throughout the polymer, and a substantially continuously interconnected plurality of pores that are distributed throughout the polymer, each of the pores in the plurality of pores defined by voids interconnected by struts, each pore void having a size within a range from about 10 to 500 μm. The porous reinforced composite scaffold has a scaffold volume that includes a material volume defined by the polymer and the reinforcement particles, and a pore volume defined by the plurality of pores. The reinforcement particles are both embedded within the polymer and exposed on the struts within the pore voids. The polymer may be a polyaryletherketone polymer and the reinforcement particles may be anisometric calcium phosphate particles.