A method for selectively producing a first or a second variant of a multi-layer plastic component, where both variants have a substrate part, a decorative layer, and a foam layer between the substrate part and the decorative layer, includes producing the foam layer in a foaming mold which has a first mold half, into which the substrate part is inserted before the foaming process. To produce the first variant, the decorative layer is inserted into a second mold half of the foaming mold before the foaming process. To produce the second variant, a spacer layer is inserted into the second mold half before the foaming process where, after the foaming process, the spacer layer is removed from the foam layer and the decorative layer is applied to the foam layer. The foam layer includes at least one first portion having a higher contour stability than a second portion.

Aspects hereof provide methods for molding a single-phase solution comprised of a polymer composition and a gas. The polymer composition and the gas are maintained under pressure during the molding operation to prevent a cellular structure from being formed by the dissolved gas in the polymer composition coming out of solution. The mold cavity in which the single-phase solution is introduced for molding purposes is pressurized to a mold pressure that is sufficient to maintain the single-phase solution as a single-phase solution as the mold cavity is filled. Subsequent to filling the mold cavity with the single-phase solution under pressure, the resulting article may be exposed to a reduction in pressure causing the entrapped gas to form a cellular structure.

An orthosis for treating a spine, the orthosis comprising a body having a base to support the orthosis on a surface and an upwardly facing surface having an undulating profile to align the spine of a user and support thoracic spinous processes of the spine, the upwardly facing surface including a longitudinal channel for receiving thoracic spinous processes of the user and a plurality of transverse channels that are arranged transversely to the longitudinal channel, wherein the undulating profile includes crests that are located on either side of the longitudinal channel.

A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) foam having a soft open-cell inner layer and a washable closed-cell outer layer which surrounds and substantially seals the inner layer, and which may be used alone or in combination with other components to produce useful articles. The TPE foam includes a base resin which is a styrenic block copolymer, and a foaming agent. A process of forming and molding the TPE foam includes using a shutoff nozzle to prevent the foaming agent from activating before reaching the mold cavity, using an oversized gate to minimize shear heat, and using oversized vents. An earplug may be constructed by molding the TPE foam over a core or body formed from a material which is denser than the TPE foam. A first earplug design may employ a constrained layer damping effect, while a second earplug design may employ an adjustable sound attenuation effect.

According to the present invention, in a plan view of a seat surface (10a), a plane area of a part surrounded by an inner edge (17a) of a rear part (17) in a left-right direction (X) and a contour (L) is larger than a plane area of a part sandwiched by an inner edge (18a) of a front part (18) in the left-right direction (X) and the contour (L) in the left-right direction (X). In addition, a part of a pair of left and right second synthetic resin materials forming a lower part having a maximum gap therebetween in the left-right direction (X) is positioned in a thigh rest part (14) and a part having a minimum gap is positioned in a hip rest part (15), and a maximum value (W1) of the gap between the pair of left and right second synthetic resin materials forming the lower part in the left-right direction (X) is two times or more a minimum value (W2) of the gap in the left-right direction (X).

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a molded foam product which can reduce or prevent blisters and crinkles on the surface even in the case of manufacturing a molded product designed to have a small thickness, thereby giving a molded foam product having excellent heat insulation while avoiding an increase in the amounts of materials used. The method for manufacturing a molded foam product according to the present invention includes the steps of: injecting, during injection molding, a molten resin containing a supercritical fluid or a chemical foaming agent into a cavity formed in a mold that includes a movable portion; and moving the movable portion to increase the volume of the cavity before the molten resin injected into the cavity completely solidifies, the mold alternately including, in a direction from a resin injection port to the periphery of the cavity, first linear portions each giving a large gap size in the cavity and second linear portions each giving a small gap size in the cavity.

An ultrasound-detectable polymeric device that offers superior visibility of the body of the device and decreased ultrasound angle dependence through the use of microcavities and methods of manufacturing thereof is disclosed. These microcavities enable superior ultrasound visualization due to diffuse reflection of sound waves when compared to solid polymeric objects, ensuring that a strong signal is received at the source of the ultrasound transducer and providing strong image contrast throughout the entire cross-section of the implant that is also robust to variable angles of insonation.

Methods of forming an article from a molten plastic composition comprising a polymer and a blowing agent. The methods include injecting the molten plastic composition into a mould, allowing the plastic composition to form a first solid skin adjacent to an in contact with a first cavity-forming surface of the mould and a second solid skin adjacent to and in contact with a second cavity-forming surface of the mould, and then opening the mould before the molten plastic composition between the first and second solid skins in at least one portion of the circumference of a region of the mould cavity defining an annular cross-section of the cavity has solidified.

To provide a new foam molding method and injection molding machine capable of solving variation in a wall thickness and a foamed state, sensor corrosion, a complexity of sensor positioning, and the like. The above-described problem is solved by a foam molding method comprising a resin filling step of filling a mold (2), clamped by a predetermined mold clamping force (Pc), with a resin (R) at a predetermined molding injection pressure (Pi), a filling stopping step of stopping the filling of the resin (R) when, while monitoring a mold gap (Lm) of the mold (2) during the filling, a predetermined mold gap value set in advance is reached, a surface layer curing and filled resin cooling step of curing a surface layer of the resin (R) for a certain time and cooling the filled resin (R) for a certain time after the filling of the resin (R) is stopped, a volume controlling step of controlling a volume increase by reducing the mold clamping force after curing the surface layer of the resin (R) for a certain time, and a taking out step of taking out a foam-molded product by opening the mold (2) after the volume control is performed and after cooling the filled resin (R) for a certain time.

A method for making a polymer with a porous layer from a solid piece of polymer is disclosed. In various embodiments, the method includes heating a surface of a solid piece of polymer to a processing temperature and holding the processing temperature while displacing a porogen layer through the surface of the polymer to create a matrix layer of the solid polymer body comprising the polymer and the porogen layer. In at least one embodiment, the method also includes removing at least a portion of the layer of porogen from the matrix layer to create a porous layer of the solid piece of polymer.