A daylighting device according to an aspect of the invention includes at least a daylighting film that includes a base having optical transparency and daylighting portions having optical transparency and provided on one surface of the base. Each of the daylighting portions has a reflective surface by which light incident on the daylighting portion is reflected and the light reflected by the reflective surface and output from a second surface of the base has a characteristic that the light travels toward a space on a side where the light is incident on the reflective surface, the space being one of two spaces divided by a virtual plane as a boundary which is vertical to the second surface of the first substrate and parallel to a direction of the daylighting portion extending, and intervals s between adjacent daylighting portions are set to various values.

An elastomer molded body for a medical device includes an elastomer portion and a filler. The elastomer portion contains a crosslinked fluorine-based elastomer. The filler is formed from a plurality of particles each of which has aspect ratio of 5 or more and specific surface area of 3 m.sup.2/g or more and 10 m.sup.2/g or less. The aspect ratio is defined as a ratio of a dimension in a long axis direction thereof to a dimension in a short axis direction thereof. The filler has an uneven distribution in a surface layer part of the elastomer portion and is oriented in a direction along a surface of the elastomer molded body.

A composite material molding method is provided for forming a composite material. The molding includes disposing a reinforcing base material in a cavity inside an openable and closable mold, injecting resin into the cavity in a state in which a clamping pressure is exerted on the mold and curing the resin. When injecting the resin into the cavity, the injection pressure of the resin is adjusted between a first pressure that is higher than the clamping pressure and a second pressure that is lower than the clamping pressure, and the injection pressure of the resin is lowered from the pressure that is higher than the clamping pressure to the pressure that is lower than the clamping pressure at least once. The resin is thereby injected such that the pressure inside the cavity does not exceed the clamping pressure from the start of injection to the end of injection of the resin.

A composite material molding method is provided for forming a composite material. The molding includes disposing a reinforcing base material in a cavity inside an openable and closable mold, injecting resin into the cavity in a state in which a clamping pressure is exerted on the mold and curing the resin. When injecting the resin into the cavity, the injection pressure of the resin is adjusted between a first pressure that is higher than the clamping pressure and a second pressure that is lower than the clamping pressure, and the injection pressure of the resin is lowered from the pressure that is higher than the clamping pressure to the pressure that is lower than the clamping pressure at least once. The resin is thereby injected such that the pressure inside the cavity does not exceed the clamping pressure from the start of injection to the end of injection of the resin.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to an automated crayon-molding device comprising a crayon-receiving member, an automated heating element, a crayon-melting chamber that is heated to a melting temperature by the automated heating element, and at least one mold. The crayon-receiving member receives the crayon at one end and has a closure mechanism at another held, preventing the crayon from entering in the crayon-melting chamber until it reaches a melting temperature. Once the inside of the crayon-melting chamber, the crayon melts and drips into a mold configured to receive melted wax. Embodiments of the invention also include a method for assembling an automated crayon-molding device and a system for molding crayons that includes a crayon-receiving member, an automated heating element, a crayon-melting chamber, a drawer positioned underneath the crayon-melting chamber, and at least one mold.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to an automated crayon-molding device comprising a crayon-receiving member, an automated heating element, a crayon-melting chamber that is heated to a melting temperature by the automated heating element, and at least one mold. The crayon-receiving member receives the crayon at one end and has a closure mechanism at another held, preventing the crayon from entering in the crayon-melting chamber until it reaches a melting temperature. Once the inside of the crayon-melting chamber, the crayon melts and drips into a mold configured to receive melted wax. Embodiments of the invention also include a method for assembling an automated crayon-molding device and a system for molding crayons that includes a crayon-receiving member, an automated heating element, a crayon-melting chamber, a drawer positioned underneath the crayon-melting chamber, and at least one mold.

According to some aspects, a method is provided of casting an object from a mold, the method comprising obtaining a mold comprising a hollow shell of rigid material, the material comprising a thermoset polymer having a plurality of pores formed therein, providing a metal and/or ceramic slurry into an interior of the mold, exposing at least part of the mold to a low pressure environment so that a net flow of gas is produced from the interior of the mold into the low pressure environment. According to some aspects, a method of forming a porous mold is provided. According to some aspects, a photocurable liquid composition is provided, comprising a liquid photopolymer resin, particles of a solid material, in an amount between 30% and 60% by volume of the composition, and a water-soluble liquid.

A product having a microneedle array is provided wherein the composition distribution has been adjusted with good accuracy. A droplet-delivery apparatus of a microneedle-array manufacturing apparatus is configured capable of delivering, to each recessed part, droplets of a raw-material liquid in a prescribed amount that is less than the capacity of the recessed part. An aligning apparatus can align the relative position of the droplet-delivery apparatus and a mold such that the droplets from the droplet-delivery apparatus are caused to land in each of the recessed parts. The droplet-delivery apparatus delivers a plurality of the droplets to each of the recessed parts; and the aligning apparatus aligns the relative position of the droplet-delivery apparatus and the mold such that a second droplet lands in each of the recessed parts on the center part side of a first droplet.

A product having a microneedle array is provided wherein the composition distribution has been adjusted with good accuracy. A droplet-delivery apparatus of a microneedle-array manufacturing apparatus is configured capable of delivering, to each recessed part, droplets of a raw-material liquid in a prescribed amount that is less than the capacity of the recessed part. An aligning apparatus can align the relative position of the droplet-delivery apparatus and a mold such that the droplets from the droplet-delivery apparatus are caused to land in each of the recessed parts. The droplet-delivery apparatus delivers a plurality of the droplets to each of the recessed parts; and the aligning apparatus aligns the relative position of the droplet-delivery apparatus and the mold such that a second droplet lands in each of the recessed parts on the center part side of a first droplet.

A method of producing a transdermal absorption sheet including: preparing a mold having needle-like recessed portions including tapered inlet portions; preparing a liquid feeder including an opening portion and a lip land portion; filling the needle-like recessed portions with a solution by feeding the solution to the mold and moving the liquid feeder in a traveling direction while bringing an upstream end of the lip land portion on an upstream side of the liquid feeder in the traveling direction into contact with the mold; and forming needle portions and a sheet portion using a polymer solution. In the filling of the solution, when the upstream end of the lip land portion on the upstream side aligns with an upstream side inlet surface of one of the needle-like recessed portions, the shortest distance from a downstream side inlet surface of the needle-like recessed portion to a surface of the lip land portion on the upstream side is 220 m or less.