An extruder has a barrel extending from a feed inlet end to an extruder outlet end. The barrel has an inner surface, an outer surface, and a wall thickness between the inner and outer surfaces. The extruder also has at least one heating member positioned provided on the barrel; a screw drive motor drivingly connected to a rotatably mounted screw positioned within the barrel, whereby the screw is rotatable at various revolutions per minute (RPM); and a controller is operably connected to the screw drive motor to adjust the RPM of the screw based upon a temperature of material passing through and/or being extruded from the barrel. Methods for operating an extruder filling a mold are also provided.

An extruder has a barrel extending from a feed inlet end to an extruder outlet end. The barrel has an inner surface, an outer surface, and a wall thickness between the inner and outer surfaces. The extruder also has at least one heating member positioned provided on the barrel; a screw drive motor drivingly connected to a rotatably mounted screw positioned within the barrel, whereby the screw is rotatable at various revolutions per minute (RPM); and a controller is operably connected to the screw drive motor to adjust the RPM of the screw based upon a temperature of material passing through and/or being extruded from the barrel. Methods for operating an extruder filling a mold are also provided.

An injection moulding apparatus and method for producing a moulded article is disclosed herein. In a described embodiment, the method comprises: (i) securing a layer of film to a part of a first mould half at step 504; (ii) adjusting relative position of the first mould component and a second mould component to an initial moulding position at step 506 to define a mould cavity; (iii) injecting molten moulding material into the mould cavity at step 508 to enable the molten moulding material to contact the layer of protective film; (iv) moving a movable core at step 510 to compress the molten moulding material in the mould cavity; and (v) cooling the compressed molten moulding material at step 514 to bond the layer of film to the cooled moulding material to form the moulded article.

In a method for operating an injection moulding machine in the absence of a backflow barrier, plastic melt is injected by a plasticising device into a cavity in a screw antechamber of a plasticising screw adapted to rotate about a longitudinal axis and to move translationally by a drive unit during an injection phase and a holding- pressure phase. A rotational drive of the drive unit is controlled such that a speed of the plasticising screw causes overlay of a backflow of the plastic melt from the screw antechamber back into screw threads of the plasticising screw by an opposing delivery flow as a result of a rotation of the plasticising screw due to a translational injection movement of the plasticising screw. A differential flow is established from the backflow and the opposing delivery flow and influenced at least during the injection phase by influencing the speed of the plasticising screw.

In a method for operating an injection moulding machine in the absence of a backflow barrier, plastic melt is injected by a plasticising device into a cavity in a screw antechamber of a plasticising screw adapted to rotate about a longitudinal axis and to move translationally by a drive unit during an injection phase and a holding- pressure phase. A rotational drive of the drive unit is controlled such that a speed of the plasticising screw causes overlay of a backflow of the plastic melt from the screw antechamber back into screw threads of the plasticising screw by an opposing delivery flow as a result of a rotation of the plasticising screw due to a translational injection movement of the plasticising screw. A differential flow is established from the backflow and the opposing delivery flow and influenced at least during the injection phase by influencing the speed of the plasticising screw.

A cast mould for manufacturing a contact lens or an intraocular lens, wherein the cast mould is provided with a central part and a bearing ring and a flexible connection between the central part and the bearing ring. Further, an injection mould is provided for manufacturing such a cast mould and a method for manufacturing such a cast mould. The injection mould is provided with a mould cavity with a plunger biased by spring means towards the mould cavity which serves for compensating shrinkage which occurs during the curing of the plastic injected into the injection mould. Also described is a method for manufacturing a contact lens or intraocular lens with the aid of the cast mould, as well as a contact lens or intraocular lens obtained with this method.

A metal flange having unevenness on a surface of an insertion hole is disposed in an insert portion in a cavity body of a mold. A resin pipe is formed by curing molten resin injected into a cavity. The metal flange is fitted to a fixing groove continuous over an entire circumference of an outer circumferential surface of the pipe in a circumferential direction. An outer circumferential surface of the fixing groove enters the unevenness on the surface of the insertion hole. A circumferential rib is formed on at least one side of both ends of the flange in a longitudinal direction of the resin pipe, abuts on an end surface of the flange, has a diameter larger than an outer diameter of the pipe, and is continuous over the entire circumference of the outer circumferential surface of the pipe in the circumferential direction.

A cast mold for manufacturing a contact lens or an intraocular lens, wherein the cast mold is provided with a central part and a bearing ring and a flexible connection between the central part and the bearing ring. Further, an injection mold is provided for manufacturing such a cast mold and a method for manufacturing such a cast mold. The injection mold is provided with a mold cavity with a plunger biased by a spring towards the mold cavity which serves for compensating shrinkage which occurs during the curing of the plastic injected into the injection mold. Also described is a method for manufacturing a contact lens or intraocular lens with the aid of the cast mold, as well as a contact lens or intraocular lens obtained with this method.

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.

Silicone is placed between an upper die and an injection-pressing rubber-lid upper die, and the silicone injection passage is pressurized by the injection-pressing rubber-lid upper die. With this, the silicone is caused to flow into an injection port through the silicone injection passage. Then, sequentially through the injection port and the disc silicone-flow passage, the silicone is caused to flow toward an inner periphery of a silicone injection space. Further, the silicone flows between both circumferential sides of the silicone-flow deflection region. In this way, the silicone flows in a peculiar manner in conformity with a shape of the silicone-flow deflection region.