Methods of forming an article from a molten plastic composition comprising a polymer and a blowing agent. The methods include injecting the molten plastic composition into a mould, allowing the plastic composition to form a first solid skin adjacent to an in contact with a first cavity-forming surface of the mould and a second solid skin adjacent to and in contact with a second cavity-forming surface of the mould, and then opening the mould before the molten plastic composition between the first and second solid skins in at least one portion of the circumference of a region of the mould cavity defining an annular cross-section of the cavity has solidified.

A system for forming a structure on a print medium 1 includes: a print unit (print device) 10 for printing an electromagnetic wave-heat conversion layer for converting electromagnetic waves into heat, on a medium including an expansion layer that expands by heating; an expansion unit (expansion device) 20 aligned laterally with the print unit 10, for expanding the expansion layer by irradiating the medium with electromagnetic waves; and a top plate 30 covering the print unit 10 and the expansion unit 20 from above.

A monolithic injection molded plastic part including an interior core, a surface formed as a monolithic structure with the interior core, and a distribution of hollow cells formed within the interior core during an injection molding process from a blowing agent and methods for making the same are provided. Such methods include preparing a mixture of unmelted plastic resin, filler agent, and blowing agent, melting the mixture into a viscous combination using a standard injection molding machine, injecting a set amount of the viscous combination into a hollow cavity of an injection mold secured within the standard injection molding machine, and holding the set amount of the viscous combination in the hollow cavity at a low pressure for a hold time until the viscous combination sets into a monolithic structure at least partially filling the hollow cavity and the blowing agent forms a distribution of hollow cells throughout the monolithic structure.

A monolithic injection molded plastic part including an interior core, a surface formed as a monolithic structure with the interior core, and a distribution of hollow cells formed within the interior core during an injection molding process from a blowing agent and methods for making the same are provided. Such methods include preparing a mixture of unmelted plastic resin, filler agent, and blowing agent, melting the mixture into a viscous combination using a standard injection molding machine, injecting a set amount of the viscous combination into a hollow cavity of an injection mold secured within the standard injection molding machine, and holding the set amount of the viscous combination in the hollow cavity at a low pressure for a hold time until the viscous combination sets into a monolithic structure at least partially filling the hollow cavity and the blowing agent forms a distribution of hollow cells throughout the monolithic structure.

A method of sub-ambient pressure processing of blow-molded polymer foams and skin-over-foam sandwich panel configurations for lightweight components having improved structural properties. The method can create either skinned or un-skinned foams that offer smooth interior and exterior surfaces, zero or controlled surface porosity, skins of pre-defined thickness, and foam cells that are expanded and oriented normal to the material plane, effectively spherical or polyhedral in nature, and offering improved bending and compressive strength.

A system for forming a structure on a print medium 1 includes: a print unit (print device) 10 for printing an electromagnetic wave-heat conversion layer for converting electromagnetic waves into heat, on a medium including an expansion layer that expands by heating; an expansion unit (expansion device) 20 aligned laterally with the print unit 10, for expanding the expansion layer by irradiating the medium with electromagnetic waves; and a top plate 30 covering the print unit 10 and the expansion unit 20 from above.

A mold for molding an object having a section of increased thickness includes a mold cavity comprising a first zone and a second zone and a means for providing a different thermal conductivity at the first and second zone of the mold cavity.

A method of forming an article by controlling the thickness of a portion of the plastic composition which comprises a layer of molten plastic composition between opposite first and second solid skins, so that the thickness is constant with a very low tolerance of +/0.5%, preferably +/0.2%, when the portion is subsequently exposed to a reduced pressure to cause expansion of the layer of molten plastic composition to form a core layer of expanded cellular foam between the first and second solid skins, and by controlling the stretch of the first solid skin to be within the range of 0.5 to 3%, the expansion of the plastic composition can be highly uniformly controlled in the expanded wall parts.

A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) foam having a soft open-cell inner layer and a washable closed-cell outer layer which surrounds and substantially seals the inner layer, and which may be used alone or in combination with other components to produce useful articles. The TPE foam includes a base resin which is a styrenic block copolymer, and a foaming agent. A process of forming and molding the TPE foam includes using a shutoff nozzle to prevent the foaming agent from activating before reaching the mold cavity, using an oversized gate to minimize shear heat, and using oversized vents. An earplug may be constructed by molding the TPE foam over a core or body formed from a material which is denser than the TPE foam. A first earplug design may employ a constrained layer damping effect, while a second earplug design may employ an adjustable sound attenuation effect.

A vehicle interior storage compartment is disclosed. The vehicle interior storage compartment is configured to store a beverage container. The vehicle interior storage compartment includes a substrate and a foam liner having a skin secured to the substrate during a forming process. The liner includes at least one protrusion configured to deform.