The invention relates to a method for operating a facility for producing containers from blanks made of a plastic material, the facility having one or more units for thermally conditioning blanks; one or more units for forming containers from the thermally conditioned blanks; one or more units for transferring containers to a labelling or filling unit; and a control unit that controls at least the thermal conditioning unit(s), the forming unit(s), and the transfer unit(s) by imposing a set speed on each unit, proportionate to a production rate for the containers. The method includes detecting an incident, determining a reduction of the production rate generated by the incident, and applying the reduction to the set speed.

The invention relates to an adhesive tape carrier made of a film, onto at least one side of which film an adhesive material is applied, wherein the film is a monoaxially stretched film made of polypropylene which contains at least 80 percent by weight polypropylene which has been processed in advance at least once, preferably has been extruded at least once, wherein the film has a stretching ratio during stretching in the longitudinal direction of 1:4 to 1:10.

Thermoplastic articles are molded from thermoplastic polyurethane compounds including blends of aromatic polycaprolactone thermoplastic polyurethane and aliphatic polycaprolactone thermoplastic polyurethane. The thermoplastic articles can have enhanced stability against exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light relative to thermoplastic articles molded from thermoplastic polyurethane compounds including only aromatic polycaprolactone thermoplastic polyurethane as the thermoplastic polyurethane component. Additionally, the thermoplastic articles can have good stain resistance, good clarity (i.e., low haze), and other desirable properties.

A method of making an article includes: heating a plaque formed from a thermoplastic composition; and vacuum forming the heated plaque to form the article. The thermoplastic composition includes a polypropylene polymer component and a fiber reinforcement component. The heating is implemented using one or more heaters having a maximum temperature output of between 1500-3000 C. and maximum intensity between 0.80 m and 2 m. The article may include a surgical tray having a bottom surface having side walls disposed around a periphery thereof and extending from the bottom surface.

An apparatus for forming a seal (40-44) along an edge portion of a flexible package (10) that is made from a sheet of flexible material (137) includes an elongated film folding member (102) and at least one heating and/or sealing member (104), the at least one heating and/or sealing member (104) extending along a first heat/seal axis parallel to a lengthwise axis (108) of the film folding member (102). A first engagement end (112) of the film folding member is adapted to contact a portion of the sheet of flexible material (137) during a sealing process and the at least one heating and/or sealing member (104) is adapted to heat the portion of the sheet of flexible material (137) during the sealing process such that the contact between the first engagement end (112) and the portion of the sheet of flexible material creates the seal along the edge portion of the flexible package (10).

A system and process of printing a package of expanded material (e.g., expanded starch, foam or other expanded material). The expanded material can be heated and extruded, poured, sprayed, or otherwise applied in malleable form that sets up to become a porous protective covering for an item to be packaged. In an example, a layer of expanded material is laid down, and the item in a protective covering (e.g., a plastic bag, sleeve, coating, etc.) is positioned on the layer of expanded material. Additional layers or expanded material may be applied, thereby encasing the item. The top surface of the expanded material may be flattened, such as by operation of a roller, press, or cutter. The top surface may be sprayed with a shellac sealant, paint, or other coating, to allow printing of a label on the top surface.

A case for a portable electronic device that includes a rigid outer layer and a more flexible inner layer is disclosed herein. The case is a single piece case. The outer layer has openings that extend through the thickness of the outer layer. The openings are connected by a groove in the outer layer. The openings and the groove may be filled by a more flexible material. The inner layer has openings. The outer layer is translucent so that the inner layer may be visible through the outer layer.

A vacuum forming method of manufacturing a product by using a vacuum forming mold including a vacuum forming product protrusion forming device is provided, the vacuum forming product protrusion forming device including: a body portion fixed on a side of the vacuum forming mold; a guide portion inserted in the body portion to be movable in an up and down direction with respect to the body portion; a hinge portion connected to a side of the guide portion; and a protrusion forming portion connected to the side of the guide portion through the hinge portion to be pivotable within an angular range around the hinge portion, the vacuum forming method including: placing material on the vacuum forming mold; forming the material by vacuum pressing; separating a formed product from the vacuum forming mold.

The invention relates to a container precursor comprising a wall, wherein the wall a) surrounds an interior region, and b) comprises a first wall region and a second wall region. Further, the invention relates to a process for manufacturing a container precursor, a container precursor obtainable through this process, a closed container, a process for manufacturing a closed container, a closed container obtainable through this process, a use of the aforementioned container precursor, and a further use of the aforementioned container precursor.

A highly flexible thermoformed stand-up dispensing package for a flowable material that is produced from one or more highly flexible heat-sealable polymeric sheets is formed with a trapezoidal front wall and opposing back wall and is dimensional and configured so that the corner of the package formed by the intersection of the top and the projecting side wall, or walls, that extend at an obtuse angle from the base is removable along a weakened tear line that is positioned upon removal to provide an integral pour spout for the controlled dispensing of the flowable material; and the container portion of the package is dimensioned to (1) maintain the center of gravity of the flowable material in the package over the base wall when the base wall of the filled package is in contact with a horizontal surface, and (2) to maintain the level of flowable material in the opened package is below the opened integral pour spout.