A ram extrusion apparatus including a die having several thermal zones, a hopper for introducing a granular polymer resin to the die, and a ram for moving the granular polymer resin through the thermal zones of the die and out from an outlet end thereof at a temperature above the crystalline melt temperature of the polymer resin. The hopper may be designed to deliver the polymer resin into a resin inlet of the die in a plurality of specifically metered amounts which may vary across a width of the resin inlet end of the die. The apparatus may further include one or more finishing tables positioned after the outlet end of the die for receiving and moving the extruded resin away from the outlet end of the die so that there is no backpressure on the extruded resin, and which provide compression force and even cooling to the extruded resin.

A die and method for extruding an extrudable material to form an extruded member is described. In one embodiment, the die comprises a barrier member comprising a plurality of feed channels that extend through the barrier member. Furthermore, the die incorporates a passage forming member extending from the barrier member substantially in the direction of extrusion. The feed channels are arranged with respect to the passage forming member to allow the extrudable material to substantially flow about the passage forming member to form a corresponding passage in the extruded member.

A mold which can improve an appearance of a molded body is provided. A mold includes a cavity, the mold being capable of subjecting a resin sheet under reduced pressure suction via a plurality of reduced pressure suction holes thereby shaping the resin sheet to follow a shape of an inner surface of the cavity; wherein: the inner surface includes a base surface and a plurality of island-like concave portions provided in the base surface; and a concave portion reduced pressure suction hole index defined by an in-concave reduced pressure suction hole ratio divided by a concave portion area ratio is 0.5 or lower.

A three-dimensional (3D) printer is disclosed. The 3D printer can print viscous material such as plastisol, polymer clay, melted sugar and melted chocolate. The 3D printer utilizes an extruder that can prevent dripping of viscous material from a nozzle. The 3D printer includes a control circuit for controlling the movement of the extruder and the air flow within a pneumatic system.

A PTFE preform, a PTFE preform forming tool and PTFE extruder and associated methods. PTFE preforms comprise a shape and configuration to facilitate compression and axial advancement within extruder apparatus to provide a resultant exudate that is devoid of internal interfacial surfaces or transitions. The present preforms, apparatus and methods are advantageous to reduce PTFE waste during PTFE manufacturing processes.

A PTFE preform, a PTFE preform forming tool and PTFE extruder and associated methods. PTFE preforms comprise a shape and configuration to facilitate compression and axial advancement within extruder apparatus to provide a resultant exudate that is devoid of internal interfacial surfaces or transitions. The present preforms, apparatus and methods are advantageous to reduce PTFE waste during PTFE manufacturing processes.

The present disclosure includes a method for determining a melt strength includes extruding one or more polymers to form the polymer film, passing the polymer film at least partially around a measurement roll coupled to a force measuring device, at least partially around a chill roll downstream of the measurement roll, and through a nip defined between two nip rolls, and measuring a force exerted on the measurement roll by the polymer film using the force measuring device. The polymer film is at least partially molten when contacting the measurement roll. A system includes an extruder, a measurement roll couple to one or more load cells, a chill roll coupled to a drive motor, at least two nip rolls downstream of the chill roll, and a take-up roll downstream of the nip rolls. The load cells measure a force exerted by the molten polymer film on the measurement roll.

Provided are an encapsulation structure, a production method thereof, a glue-spreading device, and an encapsulation glue. The encapsulation structure has an encapsulation glue layer, wherein the encapsulation glue layer has an adhesive layer formed from an adhesive glue and a desiccant composition core formed from a colloidal desiccant composition, wherein the adhesive layer fully envelops the desiccant composition core, wherein the colloidal desiccant composition has a colloidal desiccant-dispersing medium and a desiccant dispersed in the colloidal desiccant-dispersing medium.

An energetic thermoplastic filament comprising an energetic material bound within a thermoplastic matrix and methods for the fabrication of an energetic thermoplastic filament are disclosed. The energetic material comprises an energetic material selected from an explosive, a propellant, a pyrotechnic, an oxidizer, or combinations thereof. The thermoplastic comprises a TPE, ETPE, or combinations thereof. The thermoplastic filaments may be formed by extrusion. The energetic thermoplastic filaments are particularly suitable for additive manufacturing by thermal FDM style 3D printing systems.

Extrusion die systems, die changers and related methods are provided herein. The die changer for changing of dies in and out of an extrusion line can include a housing having a main supply feed bore therethrough for directing, a flowable material and a channel oriented transversely to the main supply feed bore. The die changer can include a slide plate movable through the channel and transverse to a direction of flow through the bore. The slide plate can include an elongate body having a first section and a second section. A first bore can extend through the first section of the elongate body of the slide plate and a second bore can extend through the second section of the elongate body of the slide plate. The slide plate of the die changer can be moved within the channel of the housing between a first position where the first bore in the first section of the elongate body of the slide plate is aligned with the main supply feed bore and a second position where the second bore in the second section of the elongate body of the slide plate is aligned with the main supply feed bore.