The present invention provides an image-laden material and method that overcomes the disadvantages described above while enabling the adherence of a uniform high definition print to a biodegradable pliable polyurethane foam. More specifically, an image-laden material with a desired imprinted image and which is made of an image-laden capable polyethylene film, adhesive, and a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) protection layer is provided to a PE mold to form a shape similarly to the desired shape of the thermoplastic material. The shaped image-laden material is then transferred to a second PU mold for forming the desired image-laden shape of a biodegradable polyurethane foam material where polyurethane foam is premixed with a biodegradable agent to initiate a foaming process and added to the mold. During the foaming process the polyurethane foam material increases in mass while forming an outer adhesive surface that forms a strong cohesion with the polyethylene film of the image-laden material.

A method of manufacturing a learning rod educational toy set comprising a plurality of hollow rod elements, each rod element having an indication of its length on an outer surface thereof, such as by a number or a symbol indicating total length in increments, such as inches or centimetres, each rod element being releasably connectable to another such rod element by a respective coupling element, the coupling element including a flanged region having an outer perimeter contiguous with the outer perimeter of the or each rod section, the method including the steps of, in any convenient order, extruding or otherwise forming a continuous tube of sectional shape corresponding to the required sectional shape of the rod elements, cutting the continuous tube into discrete lengths corresponding to chosen increments, such as inches or centimetres, providing an indication of the length of each rod element on an externally visible surface thereof, forming flanged coupling elements, each for insertion into an end of a respective rod element tube for connecting selected pairs of rod elements end-on-end to form a continuous rod, the flange of each coupling element being of a colour visibly distinct from the colour of the rod elements, thereby to provide a visible indication of the number of rod elements in a learning rod formed therewith. The invention also extends to a learning rod set made in accordance with the method.

A play ball has a rubber shell filled with resilient foam having an entire outer peripheral surface thereof intimately attached by heat fusion and adhesive to an entire interior surface of the shell. Such attachment enables the foam to provide additional resiliency by foam tension, as well as by foam compression, thereby significantly extending the effective bounce life of the ball. A seamed dog chew toy has essentially similar construction such that the increased retention force provided by the intimate attachment of the foam to the shell resists the chewing force of the dog popping a seam improving durability.

An injection molding tool comprising two mold parts arranged for mutual movement along a tool axis between a closed position and an open position. The injection molding tool comprises a first mold core having a mounting end and a core end. Each of the two mold parts, in the closed position, form a mold cavity and a socket adapted for holding the mounting end between the two mold parts, and for releasing the mounting end in the open position. The core end of the first mold core in the closed position, extends along a core axis from the mounting end and into the mold cavity in a transverse direction with respect to the direction of the tool axis, so that the mold cavity forms a tubular space extending axially along the core axis between both of the two mold parts and the core end of the mold core part.

Disclosed herein are expanded thermoplastic polyurethane beads polymerized from an isocyanate, an isocyanate-reactive compound having a molecular weight between 500 and 10 000 g/mol and a chain extender, wherein customary adjuvants may be additionally present, and the thermoplastic polyurethane has a hard phase fraction ranging from 0.1 to 0.95 and the hard phase fraction is defined by:

[00001]$\mathrm{Hard}.Math..Math.\mathrm{phase}.Math..Math.\mathrm{fraction}=\frac{\underset{x=1}{\overset{k}{.Math.}}.Math.\left(\left(\frac{m_{\mathrm{KVx}}}{M_{{\mathrm{KV}}_x}}\right).Math.M_{\mathrm{Iso}}+m_{\mathrm{KVx}}\right)}{m_{\mathrm{ges}}}$

where M.sub.KVx represents a molar mass of chain extender x in g/mol, m.sub.KVx represents a mass of chain extender x in g, M.sub.Ixo represents a molar mass of isocyanate in g/mol, m.sub.ges represents a total mass of all starting materials without adjuvants, and k represents a number of chain extenders. Also disclosed herein are processes for producing expanded thermoplastic polyurethanes and processes for producing molded parts therefrom.

The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a model car body, including preparing a steel mold comprising a core plate with an inner core, a top plate and at least two side plates; attaching at least one pre-fabricated plastic block to a side of the inner core of the core plate; combining the core plate, the top plate and the at least two side plates with each other, wherein a cavity is formed among the top plate, the side plates, the inner core of the core plate and the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block; injecting melted plastic material into the cavity, wherein the melted plastic material is filled with the cavity and the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block is encased by the melted plastic material; solidifying the melted plastic so as to form the model car body, wherein the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block is integrated with the plastic model car body; separating the core plate, the top plate and the at least two side plates from each other; and releasing the model car body with the at least one pre-fabricated plastic block from the mold.

Scratch resistant polymer composition, in particular for the manufacturing of rigid, scratch resistant and dimensionally stable building bricks, comprising: a) a bio-based HDPE granulate, produced from ethanol or ethylene obtained from biomass; b) an amorphous polymer and/or (semi)crystalline polymer; c) optionally a mineral filler and optionally a colouring pigment; Furthermore, a method for manufacturing an injection moulding article from the scratch resistant polymer composition is disclosed.

A method of manufacturing a three-dimensional object comprises: selecting a first ejector in a plurality of ejectors of a three-dimensional object printer with reference to a hardness identifier, the first ejector configured to eject a first material; selecting a second ejector in the plurality of ejectors with reference to a color identifier, the second ejector configured to eject a second material having a hardness that is different than a hardness of the first material; operating the first ejector to eject the first material toward a platen to form an inner portion of the object with the first material; and operating the second ejector to eject the second material toward the platen to form an outer layer of the object with the second material, the outer layer of the object surrounding at least a portion of the inner portion of the object.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a modeling compound molding system. The molding system is generally comprised of an openable interlocking molding device, the openable interlocking molding device is configured to cast external features onto a modeling compound surface by securing the modeling compound within a molding cavity of the openable interlocking molding device.

A hollow thermoplastic toy for use in a child's bath, having a vent hole, a transparent region and an opaque region. The transparent region serves to permit visual detection of the growth of mold or mildew within the toy.