Methods for producing a high aspect ratio nanostructured thermoplastic polymer foil, or a nanostructured thermoplastic polymer coating on a carrier foil, including at least one high aspect ratio nanostructured surface area are described herein. A method may include providing an extrusion coating roller for an industrial polymer extrusion coating process using a thermoplastic material, applying a high aspect ratio nanostructured surface on the extrusion coating roller thereby forming a high aspect ratio nanostructured extrusion coating roller, maintaining the temperature of the high aspect ratio nanostructured extrusion coating roller below the solidification temperature of the thermoplastic material, moving a carrier foil between the rotating high aspect ratio nanostructured extrusion coating roller and a rotating counter pressure roller, and continuously applying a melt of the thermoplastic material between the moving carrier foil and the rotating high aspect ratio nanostructured extrusion roller.

A method of infusing, infiltrating or impregnating a three dimensional printed, free-form fabricated or additive manufactured object having pores or voids in or between particles or sheets of material from which the object is manufactured may include infusing the object with a thermoplastic material. The thermoplastic material may be a linear or branched semi-crystalline aliphatic polyester with a melting point of between 40 C. and 65 C. which may have a solidification/crystalisation point between 20 C. and 40 C., and which may be introduced under controlled conditions of temperature and pressure. The thermoplastic material may be caused to penetrate the object by immersing the object in the thermoplastic material and controlling the frequency and amplitude of pressure oscillation to ensure sufficient infusion into the object to penetrate the pores or voids by at least 10% and bond particles or sheets of material from which the object is manufactured.

Examples are described that generate control data for production of a three-dimensional object. Build material profile data is accessed for an indicated build material. The build material profile data for a given build material defines one or more parameter values that are dependent on the properties of the given build material and that are configured to generate a three-dimensional object with predefined build properties.

The invention relates to heat treatment of polymorphic semicrystalline or crystallizable polymers to increase the content of the highest melting crystalline form. Such heat treatment results in a polymer powder that has a consistent, uniform melting range, improved flow and improved durability of the powder particle size for applications that require powder flow at elevated temperatures. In addition to improved powder properties, the articles produced from the powders also exhibit better physical properties in both appearance and in mechanical properties. Thus the invention also includes polymer powders and articles produced by the described processes.

Improved battery separators, base films or membranes, batteries, cells, devices, systems, vehicles, and/or methods of making and/or using such separators, films or membranes, batteries, cells, devices, systems, vehicles, and/or methods of enhancing battery or cell charge rates, charge capacity, and/or discharge rates, and/or methods of improving batteries, systems including such batteries, vehicles including such batteries and/or systems, and/or the like; biaxially oriented porous membranes, composites including biaxially oriented porous membranes, biaxially oriented microporous membranes, biaxially oriented macroporous membranes, battery separators with improved charge capacities and the related methods and methods of manufacture, methods of use, and the like; flat sheet membranes, liquid retention media; dry process separators; biaxially stretched separators; dry process biaxially stretched separators having a thickness range between about 5 ?m and 50 ?m, preferably between about 10 ?m and 25 ?m, having improved strength, high porosity, and unexpectedly and/or surprisingly high charge capacity, such as, for example, high 10C rate charge capacity; separators or membranes with high charge capacity and high porosity, excellent charge rate and/or charge capacity performance in a rechargeable and/or secondary lithium battery, such as a lithium ion battery, for high power and/or high energy applications, cells, devices, systems, and/or vehicles, and/or the like; single or multiple ply or layer separators, monolayer separators, trilayer separators, composite separators, laminated separators, co-extruded separators, coated separators, 1 C or higher separators, at least 1 C separators, batteries, cells, systems, devices, vehicles, and/or the like; improved microporous battery separators for secondary lithium batteries, improved microporous battery separators with enhanced or high charge (C) rates, discharge (C) rates, and/or enhanced or high charge capacities in or for secondary lithium batteries, and/or related methods of manufacture, use, and/or the like, and/or combinations thereof are disclosed or provided.

A method for preparing composite parts, including a step of depositing at least one band of fibrous material impregnated with a thermoplastic polymer on a substrate, by means of a main heating system selected from the following two systems: a preheating system (1) and a heating system (2), in combination with at least one secondary heating system selected from: a heating system (3), a post-heating system (4), a heating system (5), and a preheating system (6), or by means of the two main heating systems (1) and (2), the substrate being previously devoid of any deposited band or comprising at least one band n?1 of said fibrous material, the thermoplastic polymer being amorphous, with a Tg such that Tg?80? C., or semicrystalline, with a Tm?150? C.

A method of printing a 3D part with an additive manufacturing system includes printing a first portion of the part and pre-heating the first portion of the part along an upcoming tool path to a temperature at or above a material-specific bonding temperature and below a degradation temperature of the material. Material is extruding material onto the first portion along the pre-heated tool path while the temperature along the part surface remains at or above a material-specific bonding temperature and below the degradation temperature of the material thereby forming a newly extruded road. The method includes cooling the newly extruded road along the pre-heated tool path to remove heat imparted by the preheating step such that a thermally stable temperature is reached, wherein the preheating, extruding and cooling is performed in less than ten seconds.

The invention pertains to a method for manufacturing a three-dimensional object with an additive manufacturing system, such as an extrusion-based additive manufacturing system, a selective laser sintering system, and/or an electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system, comprising providing a support material comprising more than 50% wt. of a semi-crystalline polyamide [polyamide (A)] having a melting point, as determined according to ASTM D3418, of at least 250 C. and possessing a water absorption at saturation, by immersion in water at 23 C., of at least 2% wt.

Systems and methods control the operation of a blow molder. An indication of a crystallinity of at least one container produced by the blow molder may be received along with a material distribution of the at least one container. A model may be executed, where the model relates a plurality of blow molder input parameters to the indication of crystallinity and the material distribution and where a result of the model comprises changes to at least one of the plurality of blow molder input parameters to move the material distribution towards a baseline material distribution and the crystallinity towards a baseline crystallinity. The changes to the at least one of the plurality of blow molder input parameters may be implemented.

Continuous compression molding machines (CCMMs) and methods of continuous compression molding a consolidated thermoplastic matrix composite material are disclosed herein. The CCMMs include a mold, a heat zone heating structure, a consolidation zone heating structure, and a stress relaxation zone heating structure. The CCMMs also include a press structure, a demold structure, and a supply structure. The methods include providing a thermoplastic matrix composite material (TMCM) that includes a thermoplastic material to a CCMM. During the providing, the methods also include heating the TMCM within a heat zone of the CCMM, cooling and consolidating the TMCM within a consolidation zone of the CCMM, relaxing stress within the TMCM within a stress relaxation zone of the CCMM, demolding the TMCM within a demold zone of the CCMM at a mold temperature that is greater than a glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic material, and periodically compressing the TMCM.