The present invention relates to an enhanced method for the manufacture of a plastic component (135), in particular a cushioning element for sports apparel, the method comprising: opening a mold (100) by a predetermined amount into a loading position, wherein the mold comprises at least two mold parts (110, 112) and wherein the amount by which the mold is opened influences an available loading volume of the mold, loading a material comprising expanded particles (130) into the loading volume, closing the mold into a closed position, wherein during closing of the mold the mold parts are moved together over different distances (140) in different areas of the mold, compressing the expanded particles by closing the mold and fusing at least the surfaces of the expanded particles to mold the plastic component.

High-temperature foams are produced and used in the construction of aeroplanes, ships and rail and other vehicles. In particular, the foams are further processed into sandwich materials by joining with two outer layers. To this end, a novel process is used for producing high-temperature foams (HT foams) which are particularly suitable for producing such sandwich components for lightweight construction. This process achieves an improvement in the processability of the HT foams produced and a weight reduction of the sandwich materials. The HT foams are furthermore rigid particle foams which are markedly more economic to produce than rigid block foams. In particular, a reduction is brought about in resin absorption in fibre composite processes through a process-related optimization of the surface constitution.

An expanded beads molded article containing a block copolymer of a polyethylene block and an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer block and having a density of 150 kg/m.sup.3 or more and 500 kg/m.sup.3 or less and a tensile strength of 0.5 MPa or more.

A mould for forming a collapsible container from an expandable material, the container comprising, at least a base and two pairs of a side walls extending at right angles from opposing sides of the base, the mould comprising: a first mould member and a second mould member movable with respect to each other between an open and a closed moulding position to define a mould cavity; and a plurality of anvils mounted on a rear surface of at least one of the first mould member and/or second mould member, each anvil being movable so as to be extended into the mould cavity so as to form one or more hinges in the expandable material at predetermined locations within the mould cavity; wherein the mould cavity defined by the first mould member and the second mould member is a three-dimensional representation of an inside-out configuration of the assembled container.

The present invention relates to an expanded beads molded article containing a block copolymer of a polyethylene block and an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer block and having a density of 30 kg/m.sup.3 or more and less than 150 kg/m.sup.3 and a modulus of repulsion elasticity of 60% or more. The sole member of the present invention includes the expanded beads molded article of the present invention.

A method of producing a polyethylene resin expanded molded product includes filling a mold with expanded polyethylene resin particles, wherein an internal pressure of 0.12 to 0.16 MPa is applied to the expanded polyethylene resin particles in the mold, and forming the polyethylene resin expanded molded product by heating the expanded polyethylene resin particles and fusing the expanded polyethylene resin particles. The expanded polyethylene resin particles includes 100 parts by weight of a polyethylene resin, 0.08 to 0.25 parts by weight of a cell nucleating agent, 0.3 to 0.8 parts by weight of a polyhydric alcohol fatty acid ester, and 0.01 to 10 parts by weight of a hydrophilic compound, each of the expanded polyethylene resin particles having a weight of 2.5 to 3.5 mg. The polyethylene resin expanded molded product has a density of 0.017 to 0.021 g/cm.sup.3 and a thickness of 10 to 40 mm.

Disclosed is a method for molding a foamed article, such as a midsole or outsole for footwear, in which first water, then a desired amount of thermoplastic polyurethane foam beads are placed in a compression mold in the shape of the article and the mold is brought to a peak temperature of from about 130° C. to about 180° C. over a period of from about 300 to about 1500 seconds, then cooled to from about 5° C. to about 80° C. over a period of from about 300 to about 1500 seconds within about 30 seconds after the peak temperature is reached. The foamed article made by the method has a density of from about 0.1 to about 0.45 g/cm.sup.3.

The present invention relates to a polymer foam laminate structure (1), comprising—a first solid layer (101) having a density of more than 1000 g/l, which is covered by at least one first functional layer (103), —a polymeric foam layer (105) provided on the at least one first functional layer (103), —a second solid layer (109) having a density of more than 1000 g/l, which is covered by at least one second functional layer (107), the at least one second functional layer (107) being in contact with the polymeric foam layer (103), wherein the polymeric foam layer (105) has a density of 20 g/l to less than 1000 g/l. The present invention further pertains a method for preparing a polymer foam laminate structure (1) and a composite component (1000) inter alia comprising the polymer foam laminate structure (1).

A method of making molded foam articles and the articles produced. A molded foam article is produced by heating or preheating the mold to a temperature at or above the glass transition or melt temperature of the particles to be molded. Foamed particles are then introduced into the mold. The particle filled mold is then subjected to a vacuum to stabilize the molded article, without application of any additional heating or cooling. The molded article is then removed from the mold at a temperature at or below the glass transition temperature of the particles, and the cycle repeated to form multiple molded articles.

An in-mold foam molded article has a foam body made from olefin-based resin pre-expanded beads and an insert member having an elongated connecting portion and movement resisting portions provided apart from one another in the elongated connecting portion. The insert member is subjected to insert molding upon in-mold foam molding using the olefin-based resin pre-expanded beads. The foam body has a movement facilitating structure that facilitates relative movement between the insert member and the foam body during shrinkage of the in-mold foam molded article after release from a mold.