The present invention is concerned with expanded beads of a block copolymer of a polyethylene block and an ethylene/α-olefin copolymer block, wherein a xylene insoluble fraction (A) of the expanded beads by a hot xylene extraction method is 10 to 70% by weight, and a ratio (A/B) of the xylene insoluble fraction (A) to a xylene insoluble fraction (B) of the expanded beads by a hot xylene extraction method when divided into two equal parts and measured is 1.0 to 1.1, and is able to provide expanded beads with excellent in-mold moldability and an expanded beads molded article with excellent fusion bondability and restorability.

Described are methods, systems, and devices for at least partly manufacturing a piece of apparel (e.g., a shoe), which incorporate manipulating at least one component of the piece of apparel with a particle jamming device.

Compounds and compositions are provided which are useful in additive printing, particularly additive printing techniques such as stereolithography (SLA) wherein a macromer is photopolymerized to form a manufactured article. Representative compounds comprise a polyaxial central core (CC) and 2-4 arms of the formula (A)-(B) or (B)-(A) extending from the central core, where at least one of the arms comprise a light-reactive functional group (Q) and (A) is the free-radical polymerization product from monomers selected from trimethylene carbonate (T) and ε-caprolactone (C), while (B) is the free-radical polymerization product from monomers selected from glycolide, lactide and ρ-dioxanone.

Polymerizable liquids are described herein which, in some embodiments, can produce 3D printed articles of high resolution and desirable mechanical properties. In one aspect, a polymerizable liquid comprises an acrylate component, a polymeric additive, and a monomeric curing agent, wherein the acrylate component and monomeric curing agent are copolymerizable upon exposure to light. In being copolymerizable, the acrylate component and monomeric curing agent can form a copolymer. As described father herein, the monomeric curing agent can enable further reaction of the copolymer with one or more crosslinking species to link the copolymer with one more polymeric networks.

An organic microgel system as support material for 3D printing of soft materials such as silicone and methods for manufacturing and using the organic microgel system are disclosed. In some embodiments, the organic microgel system comprises a plurality of microgel particles formed by blending a di-block copolymer and a tri-block copolymer in an organic solvent. The organic microgel system may allow high precision 3D printing of silicone objects with complex shapes.

Compounds and compositions are provided which are useful in additive printing, particularly additive printing techniques such as stereolithography (SLA) wherein a macromer is photopolymerized to form a manufactured article. Representative compounds comprise a polyaxial central core (CC) and 2-4 arms of the formula (A)-(B) or (B)-(A) extending from the central core, where at least one of the arms comprise a light-reactive functional group (Q) and (A) is the free-radical polymerization product from monomers selected from trimethylene carbonate (T) and ε-caprolactone (C), while (B) is the free-radical polymerization product from monomers selected from glycolide, lactide and ρ-dioxanone.

Provided is a biopolymer composition, a preparation method for the same, and a bioplastic using the same, the biopolymer composition comprising at least 83.5 weight% of a copolymer resin of lactic acid (LA) and 3- hydroxypropionate (3HP), an antioxidant, and a lubricant, and the composition having an elongation percentage of at least 90% but not greater than 500%.

A powder of a copolymer with polyamide blocks and polyether blocks. The invention concerns a composition comprising a powder of a copolymer with polyamide blocks and polyether blocks, the copolymer being in particle form with a pulverulent filler content of 0 to 10% by mass and the copolymer having a ratio by mass of the polyamide blocks to the polyether blocks of less than or equal to 0.7, the polyamide blocks having a number-average molar mass of less than or equal to 1000 g/mol; and the composition comprising a flow aid at a content of greater than or equal to 0.3% by mass. The invention also concerns the process for producing this composition, the use of the composition for constructing three-dimensional articles, and the three-dimensional articles manufactured from said composition.

Injection molded articles having improved scratch resistance and reduced gloss change after heat and UV aging are disclosed. The article is formed from a molding composition having a melt flow index of 50-350 g/10 (230° C., 2.16 kg) as measured by ASTM D1238-04, the composition consisting essentially of: a) 15-80 wt. % of a hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer having a melt index of at least 12 grams/10 minutes according to ASTM D1238 at 230° C. and 2.16 kg weight; b) 10-60 wt. % of a polypropylene having a melt flow index greater than 300 g/10 min, measured under 230° C./2.16 kg according to ISO 1133-1; and c) 5-25 wt. % of a thermoplastic vulcanizate having a Shore A hardness from 60-90 (15 sec, 23° C.) as measured according to ISO 868. The article has a gloss increase after 10 days of aging at 120° C. of less than 100%, relative to an initial gloss, as determined by PSA D47 1850.

A composition of the present invention includes: a styrene-based elastomer; a paraffin-based process oil; an olefin resin; a crosslinking agent including an organic peroxide; a crosslinking aid; an antioxidant; and a surface-treated filler obtained by surface treating particles formed from magnesium hydroxide with a higher fatty acid. The paraffin-based process oil has a kinematic viscosity at 40° C. of 300 mm.sup.2/s or greater. Furthermore, from 405 to 485 parts by mass of the paraffin-based process oil, from 9 to 13 parts by mass of the olefin resin, from 5 to 7 parts by mass of the crosslinking agent, from 13 to 15 parts by mass of the crosslinking aid, from 3 to 4 parts by mass of the antioxidant, and from 15 to 25 parts by mass of the surface-treated filler are respectively blended per 100 parts by mass of the styrene-based elastomer.