Methods of manufacturing wall structures having high racking strength are described in this specification. The methods include spray applying a foam-forming composition into a cavity of a wall structure, wherein the wall structure is disposed in a climate-controlled spray application station and allowing the foam-forming material to expand within at least a portion of the cavity to form a foam layer deposited in the cavity. In the methods, the foam layer is formed in-situ during the manufacturing method, and the density of the foam layer is selected and the relative humidity and dew point of the air in the climate-controlled spray application station throughout the spray applying is selected so that the wall structure has a racking strength of at least 500 pounds per linear foot.

A single-layer 3D fabric of traditional camouflage synthetic fabric with outwardly extending random hollow tunnels therein with weldments in the fabric layer intermittently along the tunnels to hold the outwardly extending hollow tunnels in place. The tunnels have variable depth, typically ranging from between about 0.25 inches to about 2.0 inches. The 3D fabric is produced from a molding process that creates the outer dimensional layer. The 3D fabrics have unique visual properties which make them desirable for a variety of applications.

A method of forming a thin-walled skin includes coating at least one side of a mold cavity of a molding tool, evacuating air from the mold cavity, and filling the mold cavity with a molten polymeric resin. Among other optional variations of the disclosed method, an inert gas is injected into the molten polymeric resin simultaneously with the step of filling the mold cavity with a molten polymeric resin. As a result, high quality, large, thin-walled skins are produced by the teachings of the present disclosure.

An air flap for an air conditioning system of a motor vehicle may include a bearing section defining a pivot axis for mounting the air flap on a housing and at least one flap wing integrally formed on the bearing section. The at least one flap wing may extend from the pivot axis at least one of radially towards an outside and in a circumferential direction relative to the pivot axis at least in regions. At least one of the at least one flap wing and the bearing section may include an outer skin and at least one inner region delimited from the outer skin towards a respective inside. At least one of the at least one flap wing and the bearing section may be composed of a plastic. The plastic may be exclusively a foamed plastic in the at least one inner region.

The invention relates to a process for the production of prefoamed poly(meth)acrylimide (P(M)I) particles which can be further processed to give foam mouldings or composites. A feature of this process is that a polymer granulate is first heated and thus prefoamed in an apparatus by means of IR radiation of a wavelength suitable for this purpose. Said granulate can be further processed in subsequent steps, e.g. in a press mould with foaming to give a moulding or a composite workpiece with foam core.

A method of making a foamed article, for example a foamed component for an article or footwear, comprises forming a structure of interconnected, unfoamed, thermoplastic polymeric members spaced to define openings between the thermoplastic polymeric members. The structure may be made by printing a thermoplastic polymeric material with a three-dimensional printer. The thermoplastic polymeric members are heated to a first temperature to soften the thermoplastic polymeric members and the softened thermoplastic polymeric members are infused with at least one inert gas at a first pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. The first pressure is sufficient to cause the at least one inert gas to permeate into the softened thermoplastic polymeric members. After being infused with the inert gas, the pressure is reduced to at least partially foam the thermoplastic polymeric members.

A method of sub-ambient pressure processing of blow-molded polymer foams and skin-over-foam sandwich panel configurations for lightweight components having improved structural properties. The method can create either skinned or un-skinned foams that offer smooth interior and exterior surfaces, zero or controlled surface porosity, skins of pre-defined thickness, and foam cells that are expanded and oriented normal to the material plane, effectively spherical or polyhedral in nature, and offering improved bending and compressive strength.

Composite materials having superior material properties useful as impact absorbing devices can be fabricated by embedding a lattice structure (e.g., polymer lattice structure) within a foam, so that the foam reinforces the lattice structure under impact. Materials and dimensions of the foam and the lattice structure may be selected to achieve composite materials having tailored impact absorbing elastic and/or viscoelastic responses over a wide range of temperatures.

A single-layer 3D fabric of traditional camouflage synthetic fabric with outwardly extending random hollow tunnels therein with weldments in the fabric layer intermittently along the tunnels to hold the outwardly extending hollow tunnels in place. The tunnels have variable depth, typically ranging from between about 0.25 inches to about 2.0 inches. The 3D fabric is produced from a molding process that creates the outer dimensional layer. The 3D fabrics have unique visual properties which make them desirable for a variety of applications.

A method of sub-ambient pressure processing of blow-molded polymer foams and skin-over-foam sandwich panel configurations for lightweight components having improved structural properties. The method can create either skinned or un-skinned foams that offer smooth interior and exterior surfaces, zero or controlled surface porosity, skins of pre-defined thickness, and foam cells that are expanded and oriented normal to the material plane, effectively spherical or polyhedral in nature, and offering improved bending and compressive strength.