Mineral-filled polymer compositions and methods of forming such polymer compositions into a thermally stable article are provided. Methods of forming a polymeric article include providing a polymer composition comprising a crystallizable polymer, a mineral filler in an amount of more than about 15 wt-% based on the total weight of the polymer composition, and an impact modifier, wherein the polymer composition is at a temperature less than a crystallization temperature of the crystallizable polymer. The methods further include disposing the polymer composition in a mold, forming the polymer composition into an article within the mold, and releasing the article from the mold. The methods can include thermoforming the polymer composition in a mold, or injection molding the polymer composition in a molten form in a mold.

A shaping tool includes a cooling system having one or more cooling passages configured for enhanced cooling. The cooling passages provide latent heat cooling of a heated material that is in contact with a shaping surface of the tool. Cooling fluid flows along the cooling passages in a two-phase flow regime in which a portion of the cooling fluid is liquid and a portion of the cooling fluid is vapor. A two-phase portion of the cooling passage can be shaped to follow a three-dimensional contour of the shaping surface. Opposing walls of the cooling passage can be provided by passage surfaces of separately formed pieces of the tool. The latent heat cooling provided by suitably configured cooling channels extracts more heat from the material being shaped in the tool than traditional cooling systems.

A fabric-based item may be vacuum-formed into a three-dimensional shape. The fabric-based item may include one or more layers of fabric and one more polymer layers that can be molded when heated. To vacuum-form the fabric-based item into a three-dimensional shape, the fabric based item may be heated until the polymer layer reaches a forming temperature and becomes soft and pliable. When heated, a vacuum tool is used to pull the fabric-based item onto a mold so that the fabric-based item conforms to the shape of the mold. As the fabric-based item cools on the mold, the polymer material hardens into the shape imparted by the mold. The polymer material is able to hold the fabric layers in this shape after the layers are removed from the mold.

A system is for making a molded article made of foamed material, including a die (1) composed of an upper section (11) and a lower section (12), separable and coupled to define a recess. A first suction (20) creates a vacuum to allow shaping a plastic film on the wall of a portion of the recess of the sections (11) and (12). A tensioner and lock (30) of the plastic film allow positioning and fastening the plastic film outside the recess.

Apparatus and methods of forming selected portions of integral sheets of material are disclosed. Unformed portions of the sheets may remain undistorted during the forming process, allowing them to contain text, art work, or other desired information without material risk of the information being degraded or becoming unintelligible during the forming process. This result may be accomplished, moreover, with less trim than usually occurs in conventional forming processes.

A mould is for processing thermoformable panels or workpieces (P), wherein the half-moulds (2, 3), between which a workpiece (P) is placed, are equipped with inserts (20-22, 30-32, 40) that are thermally conditioned by a fluid circulating therein. A compensation layer (10) is applied onto the inserts and the associated half-mould to prevent the formation of marks and/or impressions of the inserts (20-22, 30-32, 40) on the surface (F) of the moulded workpiece (P). A moulding method uses the mould for processing thermoformable panels or workpieces.

A method for producing a cardboard-plastic composite shell (10), in particular an MAP cardboard-plastic composite shell for food products, includes at least the method steps (66, 68, 82, 88) providing a plastic foil (12), pre-forming the plastic foil (12) to form a shell shape (14), providing a cardboard blank (16), and connecting the cardboard blank (16) to the already pre-formed plastic foil (12) in order to form the cardboard-plastic composite shell (10). The cardboard blank (16) provided is not folded or incompletely folded directly before the connection to the pre-formed plastic foil (12). When the cardboard blank (16) is connected to the pre-formed plastic foil (16), the cardboard blank (16) is folded onto the plastic foil (12) by a stamp mechanism (24).

A forming station for producing a packaging trough by thermoforming at least an area of a film web positioned between a forming tool upper part and a forming tool lower part of the forming station. A male die part of the forming tool upper part may be moved in a vertical direction and inserted into a forming space of a female die part of the forming tool lower part. The packaging trough is produced by deforming the film web between the male die part and an inner wall of the forming space of the female die part. In an inserted condition of the male die part within the female die art, a push-in unit is extended from the male die part towards the inner wall of the forming space at an angular orientation relative to the vertical direction.

A method and an assembly for production of a mechanical component by sintering a pulverulent material, the method including: providing a pulverulent metallic material including grains, the pulverulent metallic material having a determined melting temperature; agglomerating a given quantity of the pulverulent metallic material under pressure inside a cavity; providing thermal energy to the given quantity of pulverulent metallic material to bring it to a given temperature below the melting temperature; and shocking the given quantity of agglomerated pulverulent metallic material and brought to the given temperature to bind the grains of the pulverulent metallic material to each other to obtain one solid body. The one solid body is thus maintained under pressure and thermal energy accumulated in the solid body is made to dissipate to obtain the mechanical component.

An article of footwear includes a sole having a lower surface, and a reactive element disposed on the lower surface of the sole. The reactive element has an exposed surface, and the reactive element is configured to transition the exposed surface between a first state and a second state in response to a compression force applied to the reactive element by an external ground surface in a user activity, to prevent accumulation of ground surface material, such as mud, dirt, clay, sand, slush, etc., compacting on the sole of the article of footwear in the user activity. The reactive element may include an elastomeric dome shaped popper that compresses flat in response to a compression force and then pops back to a non-compressed state in response to release of the compression force.