An additive manufacturing (AM) system includes a carriage that deposits material in a defined pattern and a building platform that receives material deposited from the carriage. The carriage includes a pre-heating assembly with a plurality of pre-heating chambers and a printing block with a plurality of slots for receiving a plurality of printing heads. The carriage is equipped with more pre-heating chambers than head slots.

A resin infusion method that incorporates a melt-on-demand approach. The method includes: (a) providing a curable resin composition in the form of a block of frozen resin (20); (b) coupling the block of frozen resin (20) to an inlet port of a heated extruder (22), which comprises at least one rotating screw (24) housed within a heated barrel (25); (c) progressively melting the block of frozen resin (20) at the inlet port and concurrently feeding the melt resin through the heated barrel (25) to produce a liquid resin having a viscosity suitable for resin infusion; (d) continuously feeding the liquid resin exiting from the extruder to a mold, which contains a fibrous preform; and (e) introducing the liquid resin into the fibrous preform, wherein the block of frozen resin (20) provides an amount of resin composition sufficient for infusing the entire fibrous preform.

A dispensing system receives liquid material and process air. The dispensing system includes a manifold body having a liquid material passage and a process air passage. The dispensing system includes a heating member received in the manifold body. The heating member has an upper portion, a lower portion, an outer surface, and a groove in the outer surface. The groove may extend between the upper portion and the lower portion and form at least a portion of the process air passage. The dispensing system may further include a nozzle configured to dispense the liquid material. The heating member may be configured to heat the process air as the process air passes through the groove and heat the liquid material through contact of the outer surface of the heating member with the manifold body.

A feedstock delivery system for injection molding includes a vessel unit that includes a vessel with an internal volume and an inlet for receipt of a feedstock. First and second dispensing units are alternatively connectable to the vessel unit and each include first and second ends, first and second valves, and a buffer chamber. The first end is connectable to the dispensing unit such that the buffer chamber is in communication with the internal volume of the vessel. The second end is connectable to an injection mold and defines an outlet of the feedstock delivery system. The outlet is in communication with the buffer chamber, and the buffer chamber is positioned between the first and second valves. The buffer chamber of the first dispensing unit defines a first chamber volume, and the buffer chamber of the second dispensing unit defines a second chamber volume greater than the first chamber volume.

A method for producing a planar composite component having a core layer (B), which is arranged between and integrally bonded to two cover layers (A, A′), wherein the cover layers contain a cover-layer thermoplastic and wherein the core layer contains a core-layer thermoplastic, comprises the following steps: a) a heated stack with layer sequence A-B-A′ is provided; b) the heated stack (A-B-A′) is pressed; c) the pressed stack is cooled, whereby the planar composite component with consolidated layers integrally bonded to each other is formed.

To improve the production method including the producibility of planar 3D components, it is proposed, that at least one of the cover layers (A, A′) in unconsolidated form comprises a fibrous nonwoven layer of 10 to 100 wt.-% thermoplastic fibers of the cover-layer thermo-plastic and 0 to 90 wt-% of reinforcing fibers having an areal weight of 300 to 3′000 g/m.sup.2; the core layer (B) in unconsolidated form comprises at least one randomly-oriented-fiber nonwoven layer (D) formed from reinforcing fibers and thermoplastic fibers of the core-layer thermoplastic, and that after the pressing the consolidated core layer(s) has/have an air pore content of <5 vol.-% and the consolidated core layer has an air pore content of 20 to 80 vol-%.

The present innovation is an innovative process for the manufacturing of jewelry or jewels with silver or gold adornments, such as bracelets, necklaces, earrings, pendants, among other artifacts, from the re-utilization of strings of tennis rackets disposed of by players, forming a polymer mass that is treated to generate the pieces, such as beads, which make up the final artifact.

A hand-held hot melt glue gun having a melt chamber, a needle and a nozzle that is movable with respect to the needle to open or close a discharge port in fluid communication with the melt chamber. A spring closure urges the needle and nozzle toward relative positions to close the discharge port. An opening element moves the nozzle with respect to the needle to open the discharge port, and a trigger mechanism is provided for advancing solid glue into the melt chamber and for operating the opening element. A time delay mechanism provides a time delay between the opening of the discharge port and advancement of glue into the melt chamber.

A thermoplastic extrusion vehicle for continuous processing of thermoplastic material used for applying lines and stripes to a roadway. Heated oil from a burner is directed to a common reservoir having a section for oil distributed to the extremities of the vehicle and a main section for heating of melting kettles; the common reservoir having a divider wall capable of maintaining two different temperatures within the reservoir. A programmable logic controller displays and records the mil thickness of lines that is calculated according to the volume of material consumed at the rate of application based upon the speed of the vehicle.

Methods of making oxidation and wear resistant polymeric materials using peroxide cross-linking and high temperature melting process are disclosed. A multiple step procedure for enabling the manufacturing of such material without size limitations is also disclosed.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) adding one or more color concentrates to the flakes; (E) passing the group of flakes through an extrusion system while maintaining the pressure within the extrusion system below about 25 millibars; (F) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (G) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.