A thermoplastic material can include a thermoplastic polyurethane material having a hard segment content of at least 30 wt % based on a total weight of the thermoplastic polyurethane material. The thermoplastic polyurethane material is pre-annealed to have a single melting peak having a full-width at half maximum value of less than or equal to 15 C. based on a differential scanning calorimetry analysis from 25 C. to 250 C. at a 20 C./min temperature ramp.

A production line is, suitable for the production of medicinal products that include at least one active ingredient. The production line includes an extruder for producing an extrudate from the active ingredient and at least one excipient intended to form an encapsulating matrix of the active ingredient, and a cooling member for cooling the extrudate at the outlet of the extruder. The extruder includes a barrel and at least two parallel screws housed in the barrel and interpenetrating with one another to mix the or each active ingredient with the or each excipient. The barrel is oriented vertically and the footprint occupied by the production line is less than 0.5 m.sup.2.

A method for etching a layer of assembled block copolymer including first and second polymer phases, the etching method including a first step of etching by a first plasma formed from carbon monoxide or a first gas mixture including a fluorocarbon gas and a depolymerising gas, the first etching step being carried out so as to partially etch the first polymer phase and to deposit a carbon layer on the second polymer phase, and a second step of etching by a second plasma formed from a second gas mixture including a depolymerising gas and a gas selected among the carbon oxides and the fluorocarbon gases, the second etching step being carried out so as to etch the first polymer phase and the carbon layer on the second polymer phase.

In sterile, additive manufacturing wherein one lamella is successively built upon an underlying lamella until an object is completed, a sterile manufacturing environment is provided. A major chamber large enough to accommodate the manufactured object has sterile accordion pleated sidewalls and a sterile top closed with flap valves. A minor chamber for supporting the nozzles positioned above the major chamber has similar valves in corresponding positions. Nozzles for material deposition penetrate the pair of valves to block air and particles from entry into the major chamber where the nozzles make layer by layer deposition of the object using XY areawise nozzle motion relative to the object as well as Z nozzle vertical motion with the major chamber expanding as the object is formed.

Sputtering printheads, additive manufacturing systems comprising the same, and methods for additive manufacturing are provided. Sputtering printheads of the present invention use a plasma to sputter a feedstock material which is directed towards a target. A printhead can include a heater to heat the feedstock to, or near, the material's melting point as it is being sputtered to increase the deposition rate. A convergent nozzle can also increase the deposition rate. Printheads of the present invention are readily reconfigurable such that the same printhead can be used to deposit different materials, such as metals and non-metals, in succession by replacing the feedstock material and making changes to a few settings. Additive manufacturing systems of the present invention can be operated at normal room temperatures and pressure.

Expanded, nanofiber structures are provided as well as methods of use thereof and methods of making.

A dispenser for additive material manufacturing having a sealed cartridge with sterile material to be dispensed. The cartridge is removable from a support housing that is movable during deposition of additive material. A nozzle extending from a heated plenum below the cartridge is inserted into a sealed variable volume enclosure supporting the article being manufactured on a movable table within the enclosure.

The invention relates to a method for preparing waste powder from generative production processes, by means of which three-dimensional objects are produced in layers from a powdery base material. The aim of the invention is to provide a method for the combined mechanical and material preparation of waste powder, wherein the waste powder is brought into such a structure that subsequently, by mixing with or even without new powder or mixtures of new and waste powders, a high-quality powdery material becomes available for generative production processes. This aim is achieved in that the waste powder is subjected to a mechanical treatment by reducing the waste powder to small pieces with a grinding mill.

Sputtering printheads, additive manufacturing systems comprising the same, and methods for additive manufacturing are provided. Sputtering printheads of the present invention use a plasma to sputter a feedstock material which is directed towards a target. A printhead can include a heater to heat the feedstock to, or near, the material's melting point as it is being sputtered to increase the deposition rate. A convergent nozzle can also increase the deposition rate. Printheads of the present invention are readily reconfigurable such that the same printhead can be used to deposit different materials, such as metals and non-metals, in succession by replacing the feedstock material and making changes to a few settings. Additive manufacturing systems of the present invention can be operated at normal room temperatures and pressure.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a hyaluronate film and a hyaluronate film manufactured thereby, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a hyaluronate film through a solvent-casting process or using an automatic film applicator that facilitates mass production and to a hyaluronate film manufactured thereby, which is useful as a mask pack for cosmetics, a patch for medicaments and medical devices, a film-type adhesion inhibitor, etc. Unlike conventional liquid products, the hyaluronate film according to the present invention has a dry surface and thus entails no concern about microbial contamination, is easy to produce/manage/distribute/use, and has superior mechanical properties, whereby it can be utilized for various applications such as packs, patches, artificial skin and the like for cosmetics, medicaments, and medical devices.