A tube sealing positioning apparatus has a tube holder slidable on a vertical guide from a lower to an upper portion of a sealing chamber for positioning adjacent a heating apparatus and a clamping apparatus. The heating apparatus may have a nozzle to direct heated air on an open end of a plastic tube. The clamping apparatus may have two clamping devices slidably disposed to clamp the heated open end of the plastic tube to fuse the tube wall adjacent the open end. A control processor may be connected to control movement and dwell time of the tube holder, and to control heat application and clamp spacing and time. A sealed tube may be attached to a top cover to be positioned in a test container. A sealing disk may close the top cover and may direct fluid pressure into the tube and apply a vacuum to the test container.

A method of making a flexible medical article or tube, for example, a sheath for a vascular access device, is provided. The method can include extruding a polymer, for example, a polycarbonate-urethane copolymer, to form a tube and annealing the extruded polymer. The method can further include cutting the extruded tube to a desired length before or after annealing, flaring one end of the annealed tube and over-molding the flared portion onto a hub, and forming the other end of the tube into a tip. A sheath formed by such a method is also provided.

A method of making a flexible medical article or tube, for example, a sheath for a vascular access device, is provided. The method can include extruding a polymer, for example, a polycarbonate-urethane copolymer, to form a tube and annealing the extruded polymer. The method can further include cutting the extruded tube to a desired length before or after annealing, flaring one end of the annealed tube and over-molding the flared portion onto a hub, and forming the other end of the tube into a tip. A sheath formed by such a method is also provided.

An injection-molding device for producing at least one tube head having a tube shoulder and a neck formed thereon has a press-out opening comprising a mold that defines a mold cavity and a nozzle that interacts with the mold. The nozzle has a valve needle that can be moved in the nozzle body. The valve needle is surrounded by a first flow channel, through which a first material component can be pressed out. The opening of the nozzle is closed by the valve needle head in a retracted position of the valve needle and released by the valve needle head in an advanced position of the valve needle In the advanced position of the valve needle, an annular outlet opening is formed, which establishes a fluid connection into the mold cavity together with an annular gap of the mold serving as a gate.

Several processes for the manufacture of thin-walled tubes are described, including: injection molding an article and annealing the article, injection molding a blend of a polymer and a high melt flow polymer, injection molding a blend of a polymer and nanoparticles or nanocomposites. Using nanoparticles to improve ESCR and/or tear resistance of a polymer or blend is also disclosed.

A plastic tube head for a product having a liquid to pasty consistency, comprising: a neck; a shoulder; and an insert forming a barrier having an outer edge which is covered in a continuous manner by an outer support made of plastic material forming the tube head, and an inner hole defining an inner edge. The tube head is characterized in that the inner edge of the insert is covered in a discontinuous manner by the plastic material forming the tube head, such that a portion of the face of the insert which is oriented towards the internal volume inside the tube and adjacent to the inner edge is covered by an inner support.

A method for making a graft layer is provided. The graft layer has at least two layers with different porosities. The two layers are applied by electrospinning. The parameters of the electrospinning may be varied when applying the first and second layers in order to achieve different porosities of the first and second layers.

An applicator with a liquid medicine where even when an accidental external pressure is applied during transport or storage, there is no possibility that a liquid medicine storage member is opened and a liquid medicine is impregnated into an applying member so that the liquid medicine can be reliably held but, at the same time, the liquid medicine can be easily impregnated into the applying member when necessary. The applicator with a liquid medicine includes a storage member for storing an applying member, the storage member includes: a bottom film in which the applying member is stored; and a top film which closes the bottom film thus storing the applying member and a liquid medicine storage member, in which the liquid medicine is sealed, in the storage member, and the bottom film has an air chamber capable of storing at least the applying portion and a predetermined amount of air.

A flat strip 1, suitable for forming a tube flexible skirt, comprising a decorative film 15 superimposed on a primary film 16, said primary film 16 consisting of a series of polymeric layers and comprising a sealable inner layer 14 at the lower surface 20 of the strip 1, said decorative film 15 comprising a sealable outer layer 7 at the upper surface 19 of the strip 1 and a decorative layer 8, 9.

The primary film 16 comprises means for stabilizing the strip 1 and protecting the decorative layer 8,9 against heating.

A method for producing a tube skirt for a flexible tube, said tube skirt being manufactured from a flat strip 1 comprising a decorative film 15 superimposed on a primary film 16, said primary film 16 comprising a sealable inner layer 14 at the lower surface 20 of the strip 1 as well as two stabilizing layers 11, 13, said decorative film 15 comprising a sealable outer layer 7 at the upper surface 19 of the strip 1, and a decorative layer 8, 9.

This method comprises the following steps: winding the flat strip 1 into the form of a sleeve to shape the tube skirt; superimposing a first side border 2 of the strip 1 on a second side border 2 of the strip 1 to form an overlapping area 3, the sealable inner layer 14 of the primary film 16 of the first side border 2 overlapping the sealable outer layer 7 of the decorative film 15 of the second side border 2; applying a heating temperature T2 to the inside of the tube skirt at the inner face 22 of the overlapping area 3 to produce the side weld of the tube skirt; simultaneously with the application of the heating temperature T2, applying compression between the outer 21 and inner 22 faces of the overlapping area 3 so as to finalize the side weld of the tube skirt.