A method for making a hard luggage case includes: a step of parison forming: including forming a parison; a step of blow molding including: forming the hard luggage case by subjecting the parison to a blow molding process, wherein the hard luggage case includes a cutting line to divide the hard luggage case into a first shell and a second shell; and a step of cutting including: cutting the hard luggage case along the cutting line to separate the first and second shells from each other. The step of blow molding is capable of reducing the manufacturing cost, while improving the life and marketing competiveness of the hard luggage case.

A method for manufacturing a reinforcing fiber base material includes a placement step of placing a sheet-shaped reinforcing fiber material piece, in which reinforcing fibers are arranged so as to extend in one direction and bound together with a thermoplastic resin, on a table so that the orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers is at an angle with respect to a longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fiber base material, and a welding step in which, in a state in which a previously placed reinforcing fiber material piece and the reinforcing fiber material piece placed subsequent thereto are abutted against each other in the longitudinal direction, adjoining edges of the two reinforcing fiber material pieces are welded together to form a continuous sheet shape.

A floor may include a substrate having a top side and a bottom side. A top layer may be provided on the substrate. The top layer may consist of a printed thermoplastic film and a thermoplastic transparent or translucent layer provided on the printed thermoplastic film. The top layer may be directly adhered to the substrate by heat welding the printed thermoplastic film and the top side of the substrate, in the absence of a glue layer. The substrate may be a synthetic material board including a filler. The substrate at least at two opposite edges may include coupling means provided in the synthetic material board. The thermoplastic transparent or translucent layer may be provided with a structure.

A floor panel may include a substrate having a top side and a bottom side. A top layer may be provided on the substrate. The top layer may consist of a printed thermoplastic film and a thermoplastic transparent or translucent layer provided on the printed thermoplastic film. The top layer may be directly applied to the substrate using a glue layer available between the printed thermoplastic film and the top side of the substrate. The substrate may be an extruded synthetic material board including a filler selected from the group consisting of chalk, wood and sand. The substrate at least at two opposite edges may include coupling means provided in the extruded synthetic material board. The floor panel may have a thickness of 5 to 10 millimeters.

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.

A floor may include a substrate having a top side and a bottom side. A top layer may be provided on the substrate. The top layer may consist of a printed thermoplastic film and a thermoplastic transparent or translucent layer provided on the printed thermoplastic film. The top layer may be directly adhered to the substrate by heat welding the printed thermoplastic film and the top side of the substrate, in the absence of a glue layer. The substrate may be a synthetic material board including a filler. The substrate at least at two opposite edges may include coupling means provided in the synthetic material board. The thermoplastic transparent or translucent layer may be provided with a structure.

A pipe coupling for triple wall corrugated plastic pipe includes a triple wall corrugated bellmouth connector that is of a unitary construction with one end of the corrugated plastic pipe. This bellmouth connector is of higher strength and in cooperation with the two wall corrugated spigot provides a high strength coupling. This coupling includes the bellmouth connector and spigot that are made inline with the corrugated pipe. A method for the manufacture of the pipe includes controlling of an air pressure on the outside of a formed two wall corrugated pipe as an exterior third wall is secured thereto.

A floor may include a substrate having a top side and a bottom side. A top layer may be provided on the substrate. The top layer may consist of a printed thermoplastic film and a thermoplastic transparent or translucent layer provided on the printed thermoplastic film. The top layer may be directly adhered to the substrate by heat welding the printed thermoplastic film and the top side of the substrate, in the absence of a glue layer. The substrate may be a synthetic material board including a filler. The substrate at least at two opposite edges may include coupling means provided in the synthetic material board. The thermoplastic transparent or translucent layer may be provided with a structure.

Composite structures and methods of forming composite structures may include at least one ply of material extending along a length of the composite structure. The at least one ply of material includes sections of material extending along the length of the composite structure.

A method for fabricating a preform for a portion of an aircraft includes acquiring a sheet of broad good fiber reinforced material, trimming the sheet to form layup pieces having boundaries, placing the boundaries into alignment, arranging the layup pieces in a layup pattern to form a ply, performing a placement operation that transports the layup pattern onto a layup mandrel, and shaping the layup pattern into conformance with a contour of the layup mandrel.