A positioning member for positioning a semifinished product on at least one positioning means in a processing plant for processing the semifinished product. The positioning member may be connected to the semifinished product and may be equipped with at least one arranging element for contacting the positioning means. A semifinished fiber product includes at least one component area forming a component as well as at least one overlapping area for arranging a positioning member. A method for preparing a semifinished product that is arrangeable at least in a processing plant for processing a semifinished product.

A system (200) for making a fitted cap (300) comprises a fastener template (202), dimensionally identical to a portion (106) of a fastener (100) and extending from a support plate (210), and a first plurality of through-openings (212) penetrating the support plate (210) and arranged about the fastener template (202). The system (200) also comprises a precursor cap (320) that is geometrically complementary to the fastener template (202), first means (217) for heating a first polymer sheet (270), and second means (219) for applying suction to the first polymer sheet (270) through the first plurality of through-openings (212) to vacuum-form the first polymer sheet (270) over the precursor cap (320). After vacuum-forming the first polymer sheet (270) over the precursor cap (320), at least a portion of the first polymer sheet (270) forms the fitted cap (300). The fitted cap (300) is configured to apply a shaped sealant shroud (590) to the portion (106) of the fastener (100).

A vacuum form tooling is configured for a press or vacuum lamination system. The vacuum form tooling comprises a negatively pressurized lower mold supporting at least one substrate element to be laminated or to provide at least one molding tool to be molded. The vacuum form tooling further comprises a negatively pressurized upper mold. The vacuum form tooling includes a clamping frame adapted to clamp a film portion to be laminated on the at least one substrate element or to be molded onto the at least one molding tool. Said clamping frame is moveable from a first position to a second position. In the first position, the clamped film portion can be sucked at least partially into the negatively pressurized upper mold. In the second position, the clamped film portion can be sucked for lamination on the at least one substrate element.

There is provided an ejection material receiving unit capable of increasing the filling amount of ejection material with as little enlargement of the container itself as possible and an ejection material ejecting apparatus including the unit. Therefore, an ejection material receiving unit includes: a first receiving space capable of receiving ejection material; a second receiving space capable of receiving liquid; and a flexible member separating the first receiving space and the second receiving space, and is characterized in that the flexible member has a concave part which takes a concave shape in a state where the first receiving space is not filled with the ejection material and the second receiving space is not filled with the liquid, and the concave shape is a shape dented toward the second receiving space from the first receiving space, and is also a shape conforming to a wall forming the second receiving space.

A mold has a sealing surface bearing a sealing profile. A plenum has a sealing surface bearing a sealing profile. The mold and plenum together form an apparatus for reforming a sheet material. In the closed position of the apparatus, the sealing profile of the mold is in opposing relation to the sealing profile of the plenum and the sealing profiles of the mold and plenum together define a profiled sealing gap. When the sheet material is wedged into the profiled sealing gap, a direct seal will be formed between the sheet material and each of the mold and plenum, resulting in two forming areas within the apparatus.

The invention relates to an apparatus for laminating a film part, in particular a decorative layer, on a carrier part having a laminating region in which the film part can be laminated onto the carrier part, in particular onto a motor vehicle interior trim part, having an edge region arranged adjacent to this laminating region in which the film part projects beyond the carrier part in order to produce a bend-around region on the film part which can subsequently be bent around a carrier part edge, and having a tool in which the tool comprises a first tool half for producing a surface design on the film part and a second tool half for receiving the carrier part, wherein the first tool half comprises thermally differently acting sub-regions, namely a first sub-region with a contour for the surface design which interacts with the laminating region and a thermal sub-region which interacts with the edge region adjacent to the laminating region.

Three-dimensional decorative articles are produced from blanks of heat-shrinkable plastic sheet material, using a mold base having an outer surface with a recess over which a blank is placed, and a convex mold insert that moves into the recess by gravity as the blank softens and cooperates with the interior wall of the recess to shape the sheet material into a three-dimensional decorative article. A guide peg extends outward from the bottom of the recess past the outer surface of the mold base and extends through a hole formed in the blank, and through a guide hole in the mold insert to support the mold insert before heating and to guide the mold insert as it moves into the recess of the mold base.

An optical film includes a plurality of polymeric layers shaped along orthogonal first and second directions. A first curve being an intersection of the optical film with a first plane orthogonal to the second direction and to a reference plane has a best-fit first circular arc subtending a first angle at a center of curvature of the first circular arc of greater than 180 degrees where the optical film has a maximum projected area in the reference plane. A second curve being an intersection of the optical film with a second plane orthogonal to the first direction and to the reference plane has a best-fit second circular arc subtending a second angle at a center of curvature of the second circular arc of at least 30 degrees. Reflectance and transmittance of the optical film are described.

A multi-cavity mould (1) for a thermoforming machine used in the process of high-volume, continuous thermoforming of a plurality of thin-gauge plastic products (2) from a preheated thin-gauge thermoplastic sheet (3) comprising an upper tool (11) and a lower tool (12) arranged in a cooperating manner; the lower tool (12) comprising a plurality of cavities (8) in which cavity moulds (8) are placed and a plurality of base plates (91) from which a plurality of supporting blocks (92) extend perpendicularly over a predetermined total height (a), situated between adjacent cavities (8), each of said supporting block (92) has a stepped profile comprising three substantially rectangular shaped zones (92a, 92b, 92c) and a fourth substantially isosceles trapezoid shaped zone (92d) in a vertical cross section, having a common symmetry axis.

A plastic sheet supplying apparatus for a thermoforming machine having an adjustable pin is proposed. Such a plastic sheet supplying apparatus for a thermoforming machine having an adjustable pin according to the present invention has the technical feature in which in a process in which a plastic sheet adhering to a material of a door trim is heated, fixing pins supporting a lower portion of an edge portion of the plastic sheet are configured to have adjustable positions so as to be moved in response to the change of the size of the plastic sheet caused by heating, so that the entire portion of the plastic sheet is uniformly heated and is also uniformly stretched without wrinkling, whereby the quality of a molded product is improved, and fabric consumption is reduced.