A controller is configured to adjust, by increasing or decreasing an amount of a lubricant mixed with the powdery material, an amount of a lubricant applied to an inner circumference of a die bore and tips, or a time to mix the lubricant to be mixed with the powdery material and the powdery material, in accordance with whether or not the molded product has defectiveness, a pressure applied to the lower punch pushing the molded product out of the die bore, a temperature of the die bore, the upper punch, or the lower punch, a temperature of the powdery material, or a humidity of the powdery material.

A compression-molding system in which upon a start of a molding machine being stopped, a powdery-material feeding device preliminarily supplies a filling device with a predetermined amount of a powdery material while stopping a relative displacement of the filling device and a compression by an upper punch and a lower punch, and the molding machine is subsequently started to cause the relative displacement of the filling device and the compression by the upper punch and the lower punch.

A trim component for a vehicle interior is disclosed. The trim component may comprise a fiber panel comprising a compression-formed component and a structure comprising a resin. The compression-formed component may provide a structural substrate. The structure may comprise a molded resin feature for the structural substrate formed in at least one hole of the fiber panel. The structure may reinforce the structural substrate. The structure may also comprise a border. The fiber panel may comprise structural fibers and a resin. The structural fibers may comprise at least one of natural fibers; synthetic fibers; glass fibers; carbon fibers; polymeric fibers. The resin may comprise at least one of thermoplastic resin; polypropylene; acrylonitrile butadiene styrene; polycarbonate; thermoset resin; epoxy; polyimide; polyester; vinylester. The component may comprise at least one of a center console; a floor console; a door panel; an instrument panel; a headliner; an overhead console; a sun visor.

A method of producing a headliner with a unitary body includes the steps of thermoforming a blank into a headliner substrate, simultaneously injection molding a secondary component onto the headliner substrate and laminating a surface covering to the headliner substrate.

A trim component for a vehicle interior is disclosed. The trim component may comprise a fiber panel comprising a compression-formed component and a structure comprising a resin. The compression-formed component may provide a structural substrate. The structure may comprise a border (e.g. edge, dimensionally accurate border, etc.); the structure may comprise a molded feature (e.g. rib, ridge, edge, ancillary component, etc.) configured to reinforce and/or support the fiber panel. The fiber panel may comprise a resin to bond the fibers; the structure comprising a resin (e.g. injection-molded plastic/material) may be bonded to the fiber panel. The trim component may comprise a cover for the structural substrate provided by the compression-formed component.

The invention relates, among other things, to a method of making a thin panel (10) for outdoor applications, comprising, among other things, the following steps: a) providing a deep-drawable film (10) of a transparent plastic, b) deep-drawing the film (11) in a mold (34), c) mounting a structure (19) having solar cells (32) on an inner face (16) of the deep-drawn film (12), d) placing the deep-drawn film (12) with mounted structure (19) in a cavity (33) of a mold (34) having in particular at least two mold halves (13, 14), e) introducing a liquid polyurethane casting compound (24) into the cavity (33) of the mold (34) and spreading the polyurethane casting compound (24) over an inner face (18) of the structure (19) and/or over the inner face (16) of the film (12), f) curing the polyurethane casting compound, in particular with the mold closed, to form a reinforcement layer (30), or comprising the following steps j) and k) instead of the steps e) and f): j) introducing a granular particle foam mass into the cavity (33) of the mold (34) and spreading over an inner face (18) of the structure (19) and/or over the inner face (16) of the film (12), k) baking and curing the particle foam mass, in particular with the mold closed, to form a reinforcement layer (30).

A sandwich structure which is configured of skin layers each including at least one layer selected from among a metal layer, a fiber-reinforced resin layer (X) that includes continuous fibers and a matrix resin (A), and a fiber-reinforced resin layer (Y) that includes discontinuous fibers and a heat-curable matrix resin (B) and of a core layer including a flowable core layer that includes discontinuous fibers and a matrix resin (C), wherein the skin layers are constituted of a material which has a flexural modulus higher than that of the core layer, and a through part has been formed in a region that lies in at least some of the skin layers. In the sandwich structure, an upright part which projects in an out-of-plane direction of skin layer and which has high strength and a complicated shape such as a rib is obtained by an easy method.

A method of making a trim component having a fibrous decorative covering is provided. The method includes providing a polymeric composite sheet having inner and outer surfaces and providing a fibrous decorative covering overlying the outer surface of the composite sheet. The method also includes pressing, in a mold cavity at a molding station, the composite sheet against the covering after the steps of providing to bond the covering to the composite sheet. The method further includes injecting a molten polymer compatible with the polymeric material of the composite sheet into the mold cavity in accordance with a predetermined set of process parameters which are high enough to integrally form at least one structural component via polymeric interfusion at the inner surface of the composite sheet but low enough to avoid damaging the covering.

Method of making golf ball comprising aligning thermoformed depressions with dimpled mold cups and applying sufficient heat and suction to the thermoformed depressions without exposing any preselected subassembly to the heat and suction to soften the polymeric material of each thermoformed depression and draw air outward from a volume located between an inner surface of the dimpled mold cup and an outer surface of the thermoformed depression to form a thermoformed pre-form half-shell having an outer surface with the size, shape and contour of the inner surface of the dimpled mold cup(s) and an inner surface with the size, shape and contour of the outer surface of a preselected subassembly. Afterwards, a preselected subassembly is loaded between a pair of thermoformed pre-form half-shells and molded under sufficient short-term heat and suction to form the golf ball. The thickness of each thermoformed depression and thermoformed pre-form half-shell may be tapered.

A component for a vehicle interior is disclosed. The component may comprise a structural substrate comprising a fiber panel with at least one hole and a resin-formed structure; and a cover coupled to the fiber panel or the resin-formed structure. The fiber panel may be formed into a compression-formed component; the resin-formed structure may comprise a molded feature formed in the hole of the fiber panel. The resin-formed structure may reinforce the structural substrate. The fiber panel and the resin-formed structure may provide a substantially continuous structure. The resin-formed structure may extend along a surface of the fiber panel to form the resin-formed structure to the fiber panel. The cover may be applied to the fiber panel during compression molding. The component may comprise a trim panel, instrument panel, door panel, or other interior trim part. A method of manufacturing a vehicle trim component is also disclosed.