A balloon wrapping apparatus and a balloon wrapping method are disclosed by which a balloon can be wrapped appropriately. The balloon wrapping apparatus for wrapping a balloon of a balloon catheter provided with the balloon at a distal portion of an elongated shaft includes: a pleating section that forms the balloon with wing shapes projecting in radial directions; a folding section that includes a plurality of blades aligned in a circumferential direction, and that folds the wing shapes formed in the balloon along the circumferential direction by moving rotationally the blades; and a rotational support portion that supports a portion of the shaft which portion is on a proximal side of the balloon, and that rotates the shaft in a direction opposite to a rotary movement direction of the blades in a state in which the balloon is positioned in relation to the folding section.

A composite core material and methods for making same are disclosed herein. The composite core material comprises mineral filler discontinuous portions disposed in a continuous encapsulating resin. Further, the method for forming a composite core material comprises the steps of forming a mixture comprising mineral filler, an encapsulating prepolymer, and a polymerization catalyst; disposing the mixture onto a moving belt; and polymerizing said encapsulating prepolymer to form a composite core material comprising mineral filler discontinuous portions disposed in a continuous encapsulating resin.

An annulus filler for mounting to a rotor disc in a gas turbine engine includes a body portion having a top wall arranged to bridge the gap between two adjacent blades extending from the rotor disc and to define an air flow surface for air passing between the blades; and a separately formed rear interface portion, fixed to the body portion adjacent to a down-flow end of the top wall. The rear interface portion forms a lip projecting below the top wall.

An annulus filler for mounting to a rotor disc in a gas turbine engine includes a body portion having a top wall arranged to bridge the gap between two adjacent blades extending from the rotor disc and to define an air flow surface for air passing between the blades; and a separately formed rear interface portion, fixed to the body portion adjacent to a down-flow end of the top wall. The rear interface portion forms a lip projecting below the top wall.

Various embodiments disclosed relate to injection-molded or compression-molded articles. A method of injection molding or compression molding an article includes directing a shot of molten material into a mold cavity including a plurality of contacting substantially identical modular mesh parts to fill the mold cavity. The method also includes solidifying the shot of molten material to form the article including the plurality of modular mesh parts and the solidified shot of molten material. Various embodiments also provide parts machined from a block produced by various methods of injection molding or compression molding.

A manufacturing apparatus of a rubber sheet containing a steel cord, including a feeding device which feeds the steel cord while keeping a specified tension; a forming device which winds the steel cord being fed by the feeding device around engagement parts spaced from each other with a predetermined width; and a placement device which places on a rubber sheet member, the steel cord wound around the engagement parts with the predetermined width. The forming device includes forming parts which press bent portions of the steel cord wound around the engagement parts to form a bending shape of the bent portions, and the placement device includes a plurality of retaining parts disposed in two rows spaced apart from each other with the predetermined width to retain the bent portions in a state in which the steel cord having the bending shape is placed on the rubber sheet member.

A preform for forming a composite structure, such as, but not limited to a panel for a building, house or the like includes a body substantially formed of a reinforcing material. The reinforcing material defines one or more compartments or sections. The compartments are fillable with a granular filler material through which settable liquid matrix material is impregnatable to form the composite structure. There is also disclosed a composite structure, a panel and related methods of forming the preform, the composite structure and the panel.

A method allows for preparation of CNT nanocomposites having improved mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Structured carbon nanotube forms such as sheet, yarn, and tape are modified with π-conjugated conductive polymers, including polyaniline (PANT), fabricated by in-situ polymerization. The PANI modified CNT nanocomposites are subsequently post-processed to improve mechanical properties by hot press and carbonization.

The present invention relates to a method of making a composite sandwich structure. The method comprises the steps of: providing a base lay-up on a surface, wherein the base lay-up comprises a first reinforcement material layer; providing a core layer on to the base lay-up, wherein the core layer comprises an open cellular structure and wherein the open cellular structure is at least partially filled with unbound particles; providing a top lay-up on top of the core layer, wherein the top lay-up comprises a second reinforcement material layer; sealing the arrangement within a hermetically sealed enclosure; introducing matrix material into the arrangement via the at least one conduit through a pressure differential; and curing the matrix material.

The present invention relates to a method of making a composite sandwich structure. The method comprises the steps of: providing a base lay-up on a surface, wherein the base lay-up comprises a first reinforcement material layer; providing a core layer on to the base lay-up, wherein the core layer comprises an open cellular structure and wherein the open cellular structure is at least partially filled with unbound particles; providing a top lay-up on top of the core layer, wherein the top lay-up comprises a second reinforcement material layer; sealing the arrangement within a hermetically sealed enclosure; introducing matrix material into the arrangement via the at least one conduit through a pressure differential; and curing the matrix material.