Disclosed is a method of preparing a polycaprolactone powder possessing properties making it well-suited to powder bed fusion 3D printing processes. The polycaprolactone powder disclosed herein has an enthalpy of fusion between 80 J/g and 140 J/g. The polycaprolactone powder described herein has a D.sub.90 between 20 microns and 150 microns. The polycaprolactone powder described herein contains a detectable amount of a biocompatible solvent, a bioresorbable solvent, and/or ethyl lactate.

A biodegradable whole leaf pillow tea bag is provided, along with a system and method for manufacturing biodegradable whole leaf pillow tea bags. The method for manufacturing the whole leaf pillow tea bags includes the steps of providing a biodegradable infusion substrate having two opposing edge; creating a sleeve from the biodegradable infusion substrate by infusing the two opposing edges of the substrate together and closing the sleeve at its bottom; placing whole leaf tea in the bottom of the sleeve; vertically feeding the sleeve containing the whole leaf tea into a heat sealing machine that will, at predetermined intervals create heat seals across the sleeve to create pillow bags; cutting the pillow bags from one another across the heat seal. In one example, the biodegradable infusion substrate may contain hemp and/or the whole leaf tea may be infused with CBD oil or other supplements. The same method of manufacturing may be used to create a biodegradable pillow bag containing coffee.

A biodegradable whole leaf pillow tea bag is provided, along with a system and method for manufacturing biodegradable whole leaf pillow tea bags. The method for manufacturing the whole leaf pillow tea bags includes the steps of providing a biodegradable infusion substrate having two opposing edge; creating a sleeve from the biodegradable infusion substrate by infusing the two opposing edges of the substrate together and closing the sleeve at its bottom; placing whole leaf tea in the bottom of the sleeve; vertically feeding the sleeve containing the whole leaf tea into a heat sealing machine that will, at predetermined intervals create heat seals across the sleeve to create pillow bags; cutting the pillow bags from one another across the heat seal. In one example, the biodegradable infusion substrate may contain hemp and/or the whole leaf tea may be infused with CBD oil or other supplements. The same method of manufacturing may be used to create a biodegradable pillow bag containing coffee.

A method for manufacturing a smart card capable of achieving excellent connection reliability and bending resistance, a smart card, and a conductive particle-containing hot-melt adhesive sheet. A conductive particle-containing hot-melt adhesive sheet containing solder particles of a non-eutectic alloy in a binder containing a crystalline polyamide having a carboxyl group is interposed between a card member and an IC chip and subjected to thermocompression bonding. The crystalline polyamide having a carboxyl group improves the solder wettability of the non-eutectic alloy, thereby achieving excellent connection reliability. This effect is considered to be a flux effect due to the carboxyl group present in the crystalline polyamide, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the decrease in the elastic modulus of the adhesive layer which would be caused by the addition of a flux compound and to achieve excellent bending resistance.

A method for manufacturing a smart card capable of achieving excellent connection reliability and bending resistance, a smart card, and a conductive particle-containing hot-melt adhesive sheet. A conductive particle-containing hot-melt adhesive sheet containing solder particles of a non-eutectic alloy in a binder containing a crystalline polyamide having a carboxyl group is interposed between a card member and an IC chip and subjected to thermocompression bonding. The crystalline polyamide having a carboxyl group improves the solder wettability of the non-eutectic alloy, thereby achieving excellent connection reliability. This effect is considered to be a flux effect due to the carboxyl group present in the crystalline polyamide, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the decrease in the elastic modulus of the adhesive layer which would be caused by the addition of a flux compound and to achieve excellent bending resistance.

The invention relates to a method and a device for producing a particle foam part. The device comprises a molding tool (3) which delimits a molding chamber (14), wherein at least two capacitor plates (15, 16) are arranged adjacently to the molding chamber, said plates be connected to an RF radiation source. The RF radiation source is designed to dispense RF radiation, and the molding tool (3) has means for controlling the temperature of the molding tool in the region of an inner delimiting surface (19) delimiting the molding chamber (14) and/or for supplying a heating medium to the molding tool region lying against the inner delimiting surface.

The present invention relates to an enhanced method for the manufacture of a plastic component (135), in particular a cushioning element for sports apparel, the method comprising: opening a mold (100) by a predetermined amount into a loading position, wherein the mold comprises at least two mold parts (110, 112) and wherein the amount by which the mold is opened influences an available loading volume of the mold, loading a material comprising expanded particles (130) into the loading volume, closing the mold into a closed position, wherein during closing of the mold the mold parts are moved together over different distances (140) in different areas of the mold, compressing the expanded particles by closing the mold and fusing at least the surfaces of the expanded particles to mold the plastic component.

An apparatus for forming a weld between a first portion of a biocompatible conductive thermoplastic material and a second portion of a biocompatible conductive thermoplastic material comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and a structure for holding said first and second electrodes in opposition to one other with a space therebetween for receiving said first portion and said second portion in contact with one another. The structure is electrically non-conductive and an electrical circuit comprising a power source and a switch arranged such that closure of said switch applies a voltage potential across said first electrode and said second electrode so as to generate heat via electrical resistance, the heat being sufficient to melt regions of said first and second portions.

An apparatus for forming a weld between a first portion of a biocompatible conductive thermoplastic material and a second portion of a biocompatible conductive thermoplastic material comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and a structure for holding said first and second electrodes in opposition to one other with a space therebetween for receiving said first portion and said second portion in contact with one another. The structure is electrically non-conductive and an electrical circuit comprising a power source and a switch arranged such that closure of said switch applies a voltage potential across said first electrode and said second electrode so as to generate heat via electrical resistance, the heat being sufficient to melt regions of said first and second portions.

A multilayer film having a backing with an integrally formed polymeric liner, made in a common coextrusion process. The polymeric liner has material properties deemed to make it incompatible with the backing material, resulting in two layers that resist separation during manufacture and transportation but are hand separable in field applications and installation.